Suffering

Suffering has its purpose even when it’s hard to understand why. Achievement in any endeavor is accompanied by it, amplifying the feeling of fulfillment. Moderation is vital, but you can train yourself to avoid the unnecessary suffering and channel the necessary.

Suffering broadens your perspective by creating a point of reference in your mind. This point of reference enhances quality moments - making you subconsciously aware you could be suffering instead. You are forced to be grateful for what you don’t have to go through anymore.

Suffering is ever present, but your tolerance to it can build. So how can you channel it into a life enhancer? The answer is baby steps. Making small sacrifices every single day helps build your tolerance for suffering. A small sacrifice might be eating half of the sugar you normally do, waking up 30 minutes earlier, or incorporating 20 more minutes of movement into your day.

I must emphasize that these small sacrifices must be consistent. It has to become your lifestyle. This isn’t something you can do every other week or for a season. Your tolerance to suffering is black and white, you either build it, or you don’t.

Shortcuts open the gates for unnecessary suffering. Unnecessary suffering is synonymous with the suffering of regret. You don’t learn anything from shortcuts because you’re so focused on how to get to the endpoint fastest, instead of accepting the journey will take time. When you are focused on the journey, there is so much more to be learned.

Suffering is a part of the balance of life on this earth. You can’t know happiness without sadness. You can’t know sunny days without rainy ones. You can’t know true accomplishment without true suffering. Nothing worth a shit in life comes without it.

With Love,

Luke