I like to post little motivational musings on my Facebook page. A few days ago, I wrote: I am not in favor of suffering. “No pain, no gain” is NOT a way to live life. A dear client, remembering her sessions with me, called bullshit on me; she recalls a bit of suffering going on in those workouts.
So let me clarify. It’s absolutely true that I am not in favor of suffering. I mean this in terms of sustained suffering. To make changes in your life, you do need to be uncomfortable. But you’re only making those changes because you’re already uncomfortable.
Clients come to me because they aren’t happy with the status quo. They want to lose weight, they want to feel stronger, they want to reverse Pre-Diabetes, they want to get pregnant, etc. Where they are has become uncomfortable enough to seek help. But the fix is uncomfortable too! I get it, I know it is. It feels shitty to say no to something you want to eat. Burpees aren’t the most comfortable things to do with your body. Who really wants to wake up early to go for a run before doing a million other things that day? And here I am, telling you not to suffer and also telling you to skip the bread at dinner and do more squats. The lifestyle changes are uncomfortable. But they’re really only temporarily uncomfortable, right? The bread basket is only on the table tempting you for a few minutes. The squats are over after less than a minute. But those uncomfortable things help move the needle away from the uncomfortable place you’re already living. And you’re living there all the time.
So, let me reiterate. I am not in favor of suffering. And if you’re cursing your body every time you zip your pants or losing your breath while playing with your kids or scared to get your blood work results, you’re suffering. It’s time to stop.