Struggle Is Inevitable
2500 years ago, there was a king who lived in a palace in Nepal. He had a son and wanted him to live a perfect life. He thought this would create a good leader that can take the throne one day. So the king cut off all form of pain and suffering by hiding the outside world from him.
The prince was spoiled and started to feel as his life was meaningless. He decided to sneak out of the palace one day and saw what human suffering is for the first time. He saw poor and dying people.
He was confused and thought that it was the richest that made him miserable. So he ran away to suffer like other people. Hoping to find some sort of meaning.
After several years he was left more confused, he suffered but he was still miserable and nor was it necessarily meaningful. He meditated for 49 days and got the idea that life itself is a form of suffering.
Rich people suffer because they are rich. Poor people suffer because they are poor.
People with family suffer because of their family.
One suffering may be more painful than another but regardless, we all suffer. It’s an inevitable part of life that we should accept and the very thing that brings meaning to it.
The prince would later become known as the Buddha.
Choose your struggles
It's easy to say what we would like to enjoy. However, to truly know how much we want those things we must also consider the struggles it comes with. What kind of pain and struggles are we willing to put ourselves into? That's more meaningful.
Because problems never go away, they are only exchanged or improved for another. For example, if you want to spend more time with your partner, you create another problem, such as figuring out what to do, where to eat, or how to that spark things up again. And as a personal trainer, if you want to solve your health problems, you face new problems, such as missing a night out with your friends, cutting out junk foods, and going to the gym.
You can't just want and have things without having to inherit the uncomfortable things. Being uncomfortable because it isn’t a choice, but where you experience it. Set your priorities straight and establish what’s really important to you.
It’s inevitable, so choose the ones you are willing to commit to. Choose problems that are worthwhile solving. Because it’s this continuous process that will bring you happiness. Look at young Buddha's case or a rich person who had it "easy" but are miserable for example.
A good relationship comes from those tough awkward conversations. Financial freedom comes from the long hours of work and learning. A good health comes from solving bad habit problems. It's not the end result that ultimately makes us happy, it's the the continuous process of solving problems and getting good ones.
Keyword: solve not avoid