The Reward For Pushing Through The Suck

 

One thing I have learned about life is you have got to get really good at dangling carrots out in front of your nose. In whatever way you learn to entice yourself, whatever way you mentally place yourself into the future, whatever means that you find work for you, you have got to get good at reminding yourself constantly that there is a reward for pushing though the suck.

Yes, life blows at times. Shitty things happen. Unfortunate situations present themselves. That will continue to happen to you for the rest of your time here. But all too often we get caught up in the suck. Like a fly in the marmalade. It is easy to ruminate in those periods. This is mentally, emotionally, and arguable physically destructive. I'm not saying that you can avoid these phases all together, but I am saying that if you get good at looking down the road at that carrot, whatever it is in your mind, your time spent in this bad mental place can be lessened. You'll be happier and less stressed. Hell, you might even pass through the suck quicker even.

There is no rocket science here. This is simply strength of mind. Learning to control it. The next time you find yourself going through a crappy situation, I want you to pose these sorts of thoughts to yourself. I want you to ask yourself this very important question: What is the reward out the backside of this thing here? I want you to think about something tangible. Something physical. I want you to think about how you'll feel once you have it. I want you to IDENTIFY it. What is it specifically? What is your reward for doing all this hard work in the now? That is your carrot. This is what you're gonna get when you push through the shit.

Focus on the reward. Not the sucky "now". Look at the carrot. Salivate over it.