You Should Learn to Suffer

"Whoa now, Dino, doesn't that sound a bit aggressive?" It sure as hell does! It's meant to!

Keep in mind that I'm what folks call an "elder millennial" and my Gen Z son would probably tell you that I have "boomer energy" so feel free to take all of that into account as you read on. But I firmly believe that people need to suffer...

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that people need to suffer indiscriminately, without aim or purpose. What I am propose is that every human needs the ability to push beyond what is comfortable.

We all have this urge to avoid pain, to avoid suffering. It's instinct; it keeps us safe from harm. But what does it mean to stay in a place of comfort? To never venture outside its walls, to never test the limit, to never push beyond what is currently possible, to never... suffer? To me, that is when we choose to no longer grow. That is the day we decide that who we are now is who we will forever be, nothing greater.

So go out and do something new. Go and try something hard. Go fail. Give yourself the space and the permission to be bad at something, and discover how freeing it is to not be bound by your own expectations. Learning to suffer is all about learning to find and overcome discomfort; it's about growing; it's about living.

If you want to truly achieve something... anything... whether it's a goal you set today; a dream you've had your whole life; or what many of us are looking for, a change to where we currently find ourselves. Go and do the hard things that you would have normally avoided. Grow beyond what you are now. Go and suffer for it.

If you truly want something, in the immortal words of Brittney Spears:

"You better work bitch."