What the Average Athlete Gets Wrong About Pain

What the Average Athlete Gets Wrong About Pain

The average athlete thinks there is some magical difference between how they feel pain and how elite athletes feel pain. The average athlete thinks elite athletes feel less pain when doing the same work as them. It’s almost like they think elite athletes have some special gene that allows them to be numb to pain. So, this is how elite athletes endure more conditioning, strength training, and sheer will power than other athletes.

Well, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The average athlete’s experience with pain is no different than any elite athlete’s experience with pain. Every single athlete who trains at a high level feels pain in their head, chest, lungs, legs, arms, back, knees, ankles, and feet. Every single athlete feels the pain of discipline, sacrifice, persistence, and consistency.

However, the difference between the average athlete and the elite athlete is in how each handles it. The average athlete hates pain, sees it as their enemy, fears it, and lets pain beat them. On the other hand, elite athletes learn to love pain, accept it, embrace it, and use it to get better.

Pain is not part of the process; it is the process. Every athlete working to do something they’ve never done before must face pain head on. There is no magic pill or special gene that makes facing pain easier. It’s simply a choice. A choice to endure whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, whenever it’s required, without complaining.

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