Going to the gym is painful. Preparing for an exam is painful. Doing the hard thing is painful.
But here is the problem – the choice is not between pain and joy, but between ‘pain now’ vs. ‘pain later.’
Instead of preparing for an upcoming exam, we can surely slack off. But would that make us happy? Of course not! We will anyway end up cursing ourselves for not doing the right thing.
Pain is unavoidable — the real choice is between the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. It is up to us. So suck it up, face the pain now, and do it.
– Rajan