No matter how impressive an achievement looks from the outside, it feels hollow if it came too easily.
We value what we work to achieve. The satisfaction comes from a recognition that our effort was required. And that it has been well-spent.
When you enjoy something that seems easy it’s usually a sign that you worked hard to get to that point.
If the skill was easy all along then the satisfaction is short-lived or shallow.
The joy of doing usually rests on the subconscious acknowledgement of hard-won progress.
If you want your muscles to grow you need to break them down first.
The ‘damage’ is the signal that tells your body it must change.
Likewise, if you want to learn you need to challenge your brain. (This goes for physical skills, and theoretical learning)
It’s the ‘painful’ struggle, failed attempts, and the need for effortful focus that tells your brain to create new pathways.
‘Pain’ is the only way to grow.
You can choose to avoid pain. But you’re choosing to remain the same.
Pain needn’t be unpleasant, though.
You can choose to lean into it deliberately in order to achieve something that’s important to you. Then it becomes a sign of progress.
You can use it as a compass to check that you’re going the right way. You can use it as a measure of how far you’ve come that day.
The problem comes when you experience pain that you didn’t choose. That’s when it becomes suffering.
This could be because you’re chasing a goal that isn’t really your own. Because you don’t truly believe the work you’re doing will get you where you want to go. Or simply because you’re moving forward mindlessly.
Don’t experience pain unthinkingly.
Ask yourself why you’re doing something. If there’s a good reason then embrace the pain. Make it so that every ‘painful’ sensation reminds you of the ultimate purpose.
If there’s no good reason then drop the activity. Or find a way to make it meaningful.
When you see things this way, you can learn to love the pain.
It acts as a barrier. No-one gets to move past it unless they choose to make the sacrifice.
If you make that choice then you become part of a small, select group. You recognise each other. Know that you share similar values. That you have overcome similar obstacles.
Without pain the floodgates are opened. Anyone can join the club without inconvenience or effort.
All of a sudden, membership becomes pointless.
If it were easy to play music then everyone would do it. And not just do it…
Everyone would play beautifully, all the time, and with unbounded creativity.
The same goes for art… sport… business… Or any other field.
And where would the magic be in that? Inspiring moments and achievements stand out precisely because they’re rare.
How much less satisfying would it be to achieve something that took no effort?
The work involved… the frustration… the setbacks…
They’re not problems. They’re features.
Things that are worth doing always involve effort and sacrifice. One day you’ll look back on all your struggles with pride and satisfaction.