Mastery: Embrace The Struggle

Issue No. 16 | April 17th, 2023 | Read Time: 3 Minutes

Happy Monday Everyone!

Fun fact about me I've never been big on cardio. Actually I've always hated it, and it's because I hate it so much I decided to make it a goal of mine to run a 5k this year. 

And as much as I'd like to say I've been running every day and excelling in my training, I can't. Over these last few months I've only gone running maybe a handful of times until recently. In better words. . . 

I've failed

.

However these last couples days I've really begun to tap into my subconscious and figure out what's stopping me from running. And as bland as the answer sounds, it's simply because I lack the motivation to get up and start running.

The interesting thing about motivation is that we tend to wait on taking action until we experience this surge of inspiration. When in reality, we need to take action first in order to become motivated.

So how can we go to the gym, write that article, or film that video when we lack the motivation to do so? First you have to understand that lacking motivation doesn't mean you're lazy, it means you're human. 

No one can be motivated 100% of the time, so you can't count on motivation to come every day because sadly it won't. Therefore you have to count on discipline to get you through those days you aren't motivated.

It's typically when we show up to the gym or sit down to write that article we begin to feel that surge of inspiration that motivates us to keep going. By taking action first we are giving our unconscious mind a glimpse of the achievement that our goals will bring thereby sparking motivation to arise. 

But even motivation won't entirely mask the pain of struggle and effort. This is when we're most likely to quit because as humans we prefer immediate comfort over long-term fulfillment. 

So next time you find yourself struggling to finish the task at hand, make the decision to embrace it. Learn to view pain as a sign of comfort rather than a sign of misery because pain is the price required to make any sort of progress.

Seneca says that

"soft living imposes on us the penalty of debility."

Meaning that if we decide to live a life of comfort and never experience physical and mental strain, we'll only come to live a life of weakness. 

So I think you'll be happy to hear that I've created a cardio plan that I'll be forced to stick with as well as reaching out to a potential accountability partner who I know will hold me to it.

Now when I go for a run I don't think about the lack of motivation I feel like I

need

, I think about the disciplined person I want to

become

because I know that progress never came easy.

So whenever I get back from my short mile run, I honestly enjoy the pain I feel in my legs because I know success is all about embracing the struggle. Learn to push through that discomfort because on the other side lies the best kind of comfort which is the life we're all looking to achieve. 

Until next time,

Isaiah Taylor

Dive Deeper

What I'm Currently Reading -

I'm now reading

The Hound Of The Baskervilles

by Arthur Conan Doyle, one of the most riveting Sherlock Holmes adventures to date.

• If you'd like to see my notes pertaining to any of the other books I have previously read, then check out my websiteisaiahctaylor.comto view my entire library of notes and summaries.

Quote Of The Week

• "It is not because things are difficult we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult." — Seneca