Most of us spend our entire lives doing everything in our power to avoid pain and discomfort at all costs. We tiptoe through life, praying to whatever gods may be that we don’t have to face hardship, challenge, or god forbid, failure.
But here’s the thing…
Pain and discomfort aren’t just inevitable parts of life – they’re the damn gatekeepers to success. You literally cannot achieve anything worthwhile without meeting them face-to-face and duking it out.
Most people see pain and discomfort as flashing red warning signs telling them to turn back. To stay in their cozy, lukewarm bubble of mediocrity where nothing can hurt them. Where they can just fade into the background and waste their potential.
Well I call bullshit.
The cold, hard truth is that no one achieves true success and fulfillment without traversing through the suck. Without facing down their demons, looking hardship square in the eye, and saying “let’s dance.”
Pain creates us. It molds us. It’s the fire that forges us from fragile, breakable glass into hardened, unbreakable steel. The crushing pressure that transforms coal into diamonds.
In the immortal words of the modern Stoic philosopher Ryan Holiday, “The obstacle is the way.”
What stands in the path becomes the path. What blocks the way becomes the way. The challenges, hardships and “oh shit” moments aren’t roadblocks – they’re the required curriculum.
If you think you’re going to luck into an existence devoid of pain, where everything is handed to you on a silver platter and you never have to bleed for your dreams…
Well, keep dreaming. That’s not how this works. It’s not how any of this works.
Pain is the entry fee. Discomfort is the cover charge. You don’t get to go around them – the only way out is through.
And here’s the really wild part…
Once you accept this – once you stop avoiding the suck and just decide to embrace the pain, a funny thing happens…
You start to enjoy it. To get a sick thrill out of facing adversity head on. To respect the struggle.
You realize pain is just weakness leaving the body. Discomfort is just the feeling of your limits expanding.
So stop running. Stop hiding. Stop waiting for shit to get easy.
The path to success goes directly through the gatekeepers of pain and discomfort. And you need to meet them head on, shake their hands, and thank them for the opportunity to get better.
Because on the other side of pain and discomfort?
That’s where all the rewards lie in wait. And trust me, it’s a hell of a lot more fun over here.