In today's episode I discuss the importance of voluntary suffering and how there's a direct relationship between voluntary suffering and human hardships. I talk about the book Unbroken, my recent flat tire on the highway, and Jocko Willink.
BLOG POST:I was recently listening to the Jocko Willink podcast. If you don’t know who he is, he’s a former navy seal and author. His podcast consists of reading/reviewing books around human experiences during war.
He mentioned something on his latest episode that I can’t seem to get out of my head. Good or bad? I’m not sure. He tells this story about a prisoner of war who was locked up and while he was locked up. Rats were gnawing at the wounds on his legs. Did you hear what I just said? A human being had to suffer through rats GNAWING AT THE WOUNDS ON HIS LEGS! That prisoner eventually got out of there and survived.
This prompted me to think of many things. But mainly, human beings are stronger than they think they are. There are many stories about humans making it through some of the most tragic experiences known to man. What that does to the human mind, I have no idea. What I do know is that there’s more inside you than you think.
You can suffer more than you believe you can. You can thrive in the face of adversity. You can keep going when your mind tells you you can’t. You can GO FURTHER.
Humans are messy, and we don’t seem to know our potential until some tragedy falls upon us, and we MUST overcome it. That’s why it’s essential to put yourself into situations that make you uncomfortable. To go into the unknown and suffer. To live a life that’s just outside the box you’ve placed yourself in. Cause when you do that, life doesn’t become easier. It becomes more manageable, so when you do come across a tragic life event, you’re more well equipped to handle it.
Some could argue that there isn’t a direct relationship between voluntary suffering and dealing with human tragedy, but I beg to differ. Both of them deal with being uncomfortable. One of them is just voluntary and much less severe. It also depends on the type of tragedy one goes through. There are some things that, no matter how prepared you think you are, will mess you up.
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