Sunday, February 09, 2014

Struggle

"Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; 
you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley


I saw this quote during an episode of "Being Mary Jane" and promptly dismissed it. I wasn't sure if I agreed with the premise of thinking that people will hurt you and the idea of suffering for someone.

Then a friend shared this article with me last week and I understood what Bob Marley meant by using the word suffering. I'm obsessed with this article. 
It speaks to my soul. Here is an excerpt:
"If I ask you, "What do you want out of life?" and you say something like, "I want to be happy and have a great family and a job I like," it's so ubiquitous that it doesn't even mean anything.
Everyone wants that. So what's the point?




What's more interesting to me is what pain do you want? What are you willing to struggle for? Because that seems to be a greater determinant of how our lives end up.
Everybody wants to have an amazing job and financial independence -- but not everyone is willing to suffer through 60-hour work weeks, long commutes, obnoxious paperwork, to navigate arbitrary corporate hierarchies and the blasé confines of an infinite cubicle hell. People want to be rich without the risk, with the delayed gratification necessary to accumulate wealth.


 Everybody wants to have great sex and an awesome relationship -- but not everyone is willing to go through the tough communication, the awkward silences, the hurt feelings and the emotional psychodrama to get there. And so they settle. They settle and wonder "What if?" for years and years and until the question morphs from "What if?" into "What for?" And when the lawyers go home and the alimony check is in the mail they say, "What was it all for?" If not for their lowered standards and expectations for themselves 20 years prior, then what for?
Coat: Marshalls
Dress: Gap
Belt: Forever 21
Bracelets: Various
Boots: Juicy Couture

Because happiness requires struggle. You can only avoid pain for so long before it comes roaring back to life.
At the core of all human behavior, the good feelings we all want are more or less the same. Therefore what we get out of life is not determined by the good feelings we desire but by what bad feelings we're willing to sustain.
"Nothing good in life comes easy," we've been told that a hundred times before. The good things in life we accomplish are defined by where we enjoy the suffering, where we enjoy the struggle.
  People want an amazing physique. But you don't end up with one unless you legitimately love the pain and physical stress that comes with living inside a gym for hour upon hour, unless you love calculating and calibrating the food you eat, planning your life out in tiny plate-sized portions.
People want to start their own business or become financially independent. But you don't end up a successful entrepreneur unless you find a way to love the risk, the uncertainty, the repeated failures, and working insane hours on something you have no idea whether will be successful or not. Some people are wired for that sort of pain, and those are the ones who succeed.
 
 People want a boyfriend or girlfriend. But you don't end up attracting amazing people without loving the emotional turbulence that comes with weathering rejections, building the sexual tension that never gets released, and staring blankly at a phone that never rings. It's part of the game of love. You can't win if you don't play.
What determines your success is "What pain do you want to sustain?"
If you want the benefits of something in life, you have to also want the costs. If you want the six pack, you have to want the sweat, the soreness, the early mornings, and the hunger pangs. If you want the yacht, you have to also want the late nights, the risky business moves, and the possibility of pissing off a person or ten.
If you find yourself wanting something month after month, year after year, yet nothing happens and you never come any closer to it, then maybe what you actually want is a fantasy, an idealization, an image and a false promise. Maybe you don't actually want it at all.
So I ask you, "How are you willing to suffer?"
Because you have to choose something. You can't have a pain-free life. It can't all be roses and unicorns.
Choose how you are willing to suffer.
Because that's the hard question that matters. Pleasure is an easy question. And pretty much all of us have the same answer.
The more interesting question is the pain. What is the pain that you want to sustain?
Because that answer will actually get you somewhere. It's the question that can change your life. It's what makes me me and you you. It's what defines us and separates us and ultimately brings us together.
So what's it going to be?" -Mark Manson

Do you agree with this article? That we have to choose the pain that we are willing to suffer for to get what we want in the end? Are you willing to
suffer through the hard times to reap the reward? Is it worth the risk? Are you guilty of settling for a life that is less than you deserve because you are afraid of the pain? 
(I have been asking myself these questions ever since I've read this article.) 
Read the full article at The Huffington Post here.

12 comments:

Law_Fal said...

Awesome post & so true. Can't appreciate the reward, without the struggle...

Unknown said...

Such a fab look ... That dress paired with that amazing coat is pure perfection :)

Melissa of faith family fashion

Unknown said...

this is a different perspective that i really needed to hear (read). thanks chica!

Dawnya said...

You look amazing!! That smile is perfection. Thanks for sharing this article. It does give a person food for thought. I'm so afraid of pain...I have to think about this one.

DeniseL said...

Totally love this post and agree wholeheartedly. This was a message I needed on so many levels. Thank you!

Cruser said...

Awsome piece of information, I had come to know about your website from my friend vinod, indore,i have read atleast seven posts of yours by now, and let me tell you, your blog gives the best and the most interesting information. This is just the kind of information that i had been looking for, i'm already your rss reader now and i would regularly watch out for the new posts, once again hats off to you! Thanks a ton once again, Regards, bob marley quotes

Erika said...

Hi Juanette,

Longtime lurker here - love your style, thanks for making the effort to share with us!

I thought this was smart, although I would say it differently - what kind of effort are you good at sustaining? I work for the government and I know it's for me because I can manage in a bureaucracy, I have the patience and the cheerfulness to cope. My reward is stable employment, but even more, the sense that my work takes care of people (I'm in public health). I used to work at a university, but couldn't sustain the antagonistic, critical attitude that is so at home there.
Right? I think it's a smart way of figuring out where you can be happy.

obat ambeien said...

thank's regard for your information and i like this post ^___^

New York Tailor Shop said...

Hello, Perfect matching of your dress and jacket. I must say the style you adopt is unique and attractive to watch. Thanks for sharing it.

GirlsAreDolls said...

Pretty look

Love, Omora said...

Beautiful pics. Love the mix of colors. I don't know what I love more the dress or the jacket.

loveomora.blogspot.com

Simplybee said...

Come on sugar its a full month...show us some of that Houston luv!! You are missed!

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