An Athlete’s Pain Tolerance Depends on this Mindset
One of my daily routines is to read The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday. Yesterday, the philosophical message of the day was one all athletes must understand if they don’t want their pain tolerance to be the reason why they don’t reach their goals.
Holiday breaks down a quote from ancient philosopher Epictetus on the discipline of preparing oneself for the inevitable battles ahead. Using boxing as a metaphor for life, Holiday states:
What kind of boxer are you if you leave because you get hit? That’s the nature of the sport! Is that going to stop you from continuing?
In other words, in sports as in life, pain is inevitable. Therefore, you must accept that you must embrace pain. Not necessarily the pain of injury, disease, and trauma. Although, at least one of those types of pain are likely as well.
However, there is no avoiding the pain of discipline, repetition, fatigue, boredom, and fear. Athletes have no choice but to learn how to embrace these types of pain on the road to success.
The Mindset Change Athletes Need to Embrace Pain
As an athlete, if you are not there yet and continue to fight against pain instead of embracing it, consider this mindset change. Don’t view pain as a burden, view it as a blessing. Pain is not only part of the process; it is the process. Furthermore, the process is designed to weed out the weak. It’s a fact that every person working to do something they’ve never done before faces pain and the only ones who accomplish their goals overcome that pain.
Moreover, the amount of pain you face is relatively the same as every other person seeking some definition of success. Pain is a universal human experience. The only difference between you and someone else is how you handle pain vs. how they handle pain.
Those who hate pain see it as their enemy. They despise it and fight against it. Those who learn to view pain as a blessing, embrace it and use it to get better. They take the pain and reframe it as a chance to challenge their limitations. So, to change your mindset on pain you must make pain your mindset.