Embrace The Suck
Pain is real; suffering is optional.
A few years ago, I pinched the nerve in my neck that goes down the right side of my body. The weird thing about nerves is they don’t really know where the problem is. They receive an electrical signal from somewhere down the line. Usually, you receive a signal of pain from some part of your body. You look to see what is going on and notice blood coming from your finger. Your brain deduces that must be the source of the problem.
When nerve damage occurs, your brain receives signals, but there is no obvious sign of injury. As a result, it sometimes felt like my shoulder was torn. Other times I thought it was my elbow. Sometimes it felt like I had hurt my neck. The muscles would spasm consistently in response to nerve signals that weren’t there. These symptoms would alternate non-stop throughout the day. My doctor prescribed muscle relaxers, but they had no effect. Then he prescribed opioids, again with no change. Next, he prescribed anti-seizure medicine for epilepsy patients, again with no impact. Then I started taking all 3. Physically there was no change in my symptoms, mentally, though, I was a complete mess. It hurt to stand up. It hurt to lie down. It hurt to move my arm; it hurt not to move my arm.
Finally, in my daily reading, I stumbled across the phrase above pain is real, suffering is optional. I quit taking all of the medicine. Mentally I committed to not giving in to the pain. It was just an electrical signal, and I would treat it as such. When I moved my arm, I would not wince. I would not groan. It hurt, but that was merely an electrical sensation, and I would not allow it any more mental focus than flipping a light switch.
Things began to change after that. Physically, nothing was different about my injury, but mentally by refusing to give it focus; it became less obtrusive. One step forward, even if it is a small step. Eventually, I recovered physically but grew exponentially mentally, and that’s the lesson here.
Putting It To Practical Use
So how do we apply that story to honest, actionable advice that we can use?
First, when you’re deep into a demanding task, embrace the suck. Acknowledge the pain, but do not give in to the suffering. Pain is real, but suffering is self-imposed. Suffering can come in many forms: negative self-talk, groaning out loud, or closing your eyes to shut out reality. All these expressions reinforce the part of your brain saying, “I can’t.” Remember that when your brain says I can’t, you are only at about 40% of what your body is physically capable of.
Dear Negativity, You are welcome to bitch, moan, gripe, complain, and voice your objection to the current situation. Understand that you have a voice here but don’t get a vote. Sincerely, Brain
Second, break your goals down into micro-goals. Instead of having a goal of doing ten clean and jerks, set a micro-goal of doing one. When that gets challenging, set a micro-goal of doing a clean, then another micro-goal of doing a jerk, then another micro-goal of lowering the bar. Always moving forward, even if measuring inches, not miles. Always forward, never back.
When the negativity sets in, remind yourself of the current goal and focus on that. Arguing with it, shouting over it, or trying to turn it off it doesn’t work. You can’t turn it off, but you can choose to focus on something else.
Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you to their level and beat you with experience.
One final note: use common sense. If you injure yourself during a workout, stop. There’s no glory in fucking up your body, even worse during training. There’s a difference between pushing through pain and trying to push through injury.
Under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion; you sink to the level of your training. –Navy SEALs
Today’s Tasks
Don’t forget to complete today’s tasks for the challenge.
- Drink 1 gallon of water
- Workout for 45 minutes
- Read ten pages from your book
- Stick to your meal plan
Once completed, head to the tracking site and mark them as completed to track your progress for the challenge. Tomorrow we will learn about visualization and how to use it for everything from minor tasks to major life goals.