Life is Pain, So Choose Your Pain

During rest mode last year after another brutal year, I do what I do to relax. Go rewatch Yellowstone. Man that is one damn good tv series, except for the last season, what the heck happened there?

There is this scene when one of the cowboys leaves Yellowstone with his wife and he feels sad and guilty. His wife tells him: “It’s called life. Most of it hurts. That’s when something feels good. We have a frame of reference.”

How true this is. And I think our Western societal messaging has done us all a major disservice. We are taught to focus on being happy. That this is the ultimate goal of life. It took me a while to realize this is completely false and wrong. 

The purpose of our life is to have an impact and accomplish things. Preferably in the service of others, whether family, friends, or the greater community. And like most things, this is hard. It’s painful and uncomfortable, most of the time. Perhaps this is why most people just give up in life. 

They give up on themselves and their dreams and settle. Nothing worse than people who settle.

Don’t be these people. Choose your hard. Do things important and meaningful for you and your family. Expect things to be hard but have the mindset that you will do whatever it takes (legally and morally) to overcome these challenges. Pain always leads to growth. Adversity is the signal. 

Glory and victory goes to those who endure.