I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
-Muhammad Ali
I’ve had this quote on my wall since college and only recently have I been able to truly hone it in my everyday life. I always got it in relation to training and working out but never looked to far past that. This past weekend I ran a weighted 5k for the Wounded Warrior Project. I was not planning on participating and when I woke up that morning did not want to do the run. But as I laid in bed, I thought to myself about what/who I wanted to be, and what that person would say to myself if I decided not to. Sometimes you gotta do the things you don’t want to do, because you know they are good for you.
Sometimes you have to “embrace the suck.” And through embracing the lows you can really rejoice the highs. It’s kind of like cooking. When you order fast food or someone makes you something “it’s good”. But when you cook something from scratch or prepare it from start to finish, it doesn’t just taste good, it taste like something more. You can apply this to all things in life, whether it’s overtime at work to get a promotion or going harder at the gym to push through a plateau. Knowing it’s going to suck and doing it anyway, makes it so much sweeter in the end, when you’ve reached your goal or become one step closer.
I think of it as practicing to become who I want to be. I can’t expect to become a better version of myself without doing the things needed to get there. Whether it’s waking up early or going out of your way for a friend. If I want to be that person, I have to practice everyday until I am the friend I want to be or as successful as I dream.
Here’s The Thing. During a snowstorm, someone has to go out and shovel the streets, during a hurricane, someone has to turn back on the power, during the industrial boom, someone had to climb those scaffolds. Embrace the suck, and do what needs to be done. Trust me, you’ll be better for it.
The Relatables 