Pick Your Own Pain

"Who you are is defined by what you are willing to struggle for."

- Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a ...

Someone recently asked me my prediction for their life.

This is how I responded ...

For those of you that didn't get that, the great Clubber Lang said "PAIN". 

In this age of entitlement and instant gratification, PAIN is the last thing that any normal person is willing to endure. 

Fortunately, in life, you get to pick your own PAIN.

Unfortunately, most people give up what they want most to avoid PAIN right now.

Don't believe me ...

How many of you have given up the PAIN of hunger only to have the PAIN of being embarrassed in a bathing suit?

How many of you have avoided the PAIN of waking up for the gym only to have the PAIN of no gains?

How many times have you avoided the PAIN of foam rolling before bed only to have the PAIN of being sore the next day? 

And how many kids do you know that avoid the PAIN of football practice only to have the PAIN of riding the bench?

Sadly, most people probably felt this blog post was too PAINful to read. They probably stopped reading it right after the Clubber Lang video.

For those of you that have made it this far, I commend you.

You chose the PAIN of actually staying focused on one thing for more than 6 seconds ... even if that thing wasn't telling you that you were awesome.

So where do you go from here?

Pick your next PAIN and embrace it.

If you are not sure what PAIN to pick, here are a few ideas.

• Being sober while your buddies get hammered.
• Putting down your cell phone 2 hours before bed so you can sleep
• Not eating processed foods
• Chewing slowly
• Drinking apple cider vinegar
• Taking a cold shower
• Telling someone you were wrong
• Restricting your eating time to under 12 hours a day
• Drinking water instead of soft drinks
• Not eating processed foods
• Training before the sun comes up
• Telling someone you are grateful for them
• Wearing an ice vest
• Reading all of my blog posts 100x (note the shameless plug)

I want to end this post with a picture that I think is oddly fitting. 

Not only is the quote something I tell guys when they chose the PAIN of softness over the PAIN of waking up early, it also references the analogy I give to make them realize that they don't want it that bad.