Life is pain. Life is uncomfortable. Life is difficult. If we ever forgot these things our memory has quickly been jogged.
Why must pain be part of life? Life is about growth and growth is inherently painful. Pain from growth is like soreness after a workout. It will always be there, sometimes massive sometimes mild. Yet a necessary discomfort. Pain is divine. Suffering, however, is a uniquely human condition.
We choose suffering. Suffering is bathing in the rejection of reality while lamenting a fantasy that never existed. If we never allow for discomfort we cannot grow and stay mired in the suffering of misery.
There are four solutions to problems in our lives:
Solve it. Change it. Avoid it. Leave.
Feel better about it. Change your emotion around the problem.
Tolerate it. Practice acceptance.
Stay miserable. Keep suffering.
Suffering is a choice. If you find yourself in misery it is of your own making. And that’s ok. I spent much of my life in misery because of my unwillingness to change. That was my choice. Today, I choose to accept pain as part of my journey but I refuse to suffer through it.
What do you choose?
