I want to talk about pain. Particularly I want to talk about pain when it comes to determining your goals and aspirations. I think a lot of people take the wrong approach when it comes to goal setting. It’s easy to decide, “I want to be a millionaire.” What’s not easy is the pain and sacrifice that goes along with working your way there.
Pain is an inevitable part of life. You can’t escape it. Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s a fact. The people that devote their lives to escaping pain, or avoiding it, are operating with a sense of entitlement and often end up much unhappier than the rest of the world. So, the first step is realizing that there’s going to be pain, regardless of what you’re pursuing.
The next, and most important step, is picking your pain. For me, I chose the pain and sacrifices that were required to become a millionaire. As a result, I’ll likely never have to experience the pain of financial instability, and struggling to make ends meet. It was hard work, there was pain involved, but for me, it was worth it.
So what pain are you choosing right now? We all want a great beach body, but are you choosing the pain of getting up early, going to the gym, and eating the right food? If that’s not the pain you want, that’s fine. You can easily sleep in, eat fast food, and never work out a day in your life. But you must understand that in doing so, you’re choosing the pain of likely health issues, lethargy, and a less than ideal physique. Which pain are you choosing?
Here’s a little exercise. Take out a piece of paper and write down your goals. Hopefully, this is something you already have written down anyway. Now next to each of those goals, write down the pain & sacrifice that goes with it. If you’re not sure, research someone who achieved the same goal you’re pursuing. That’s the cost to achieving those goals. You must adopt a mindset of choosing the pain that gets the results that you desire.
Aspiring for greatness is easy. It’s simple to decide what you want. It’s easy to dream big. But until you pick your pain, your dreams will be just that, dreams.
