If we’re lucky enough in our lifetime, we will find something that is really worth struggling for.
I was listening to a podcast featuring Jerry Seinfield, one of my favorite comedians and the star of the Sit-Com, Seinfield. He said something very profound: “Your blessing in life is when you find the torture you’re comfortable with.” For him, that torture has been seeing his world through a comedic lens. No matter what he’s doing or where he is, he’s always surveying the situation with hopes of finding some material he can use. Always thinking and writing jokes. He never turns that lens off.
Always living with your passion in the spotlight of your focus is exhausting but is imperative for creating and becoming something great.
Another way to rephrase the quote is “Your blessing in life is when you find the pursuit you’re comfortable struggling for.”
Your torture might be pursuing a sport at the highest level, nurturing a relationship that you envision being eternal, making a dramatic lifestyle change, securing that job you so desperately want, or maybe even trying to build a business with your brother from the basement of your house. Struggle and discomfort inevitably arise along the road, but they all offer the chance at an incredible reward if we have the discipline and persistence to remain comfortable in that struggle.
All the work that goes into maximizing your pursuit must come with the understanding that there is no certainty of reward; however, the process of obtaining that reward overpowers the uncertainty. We must accept and embrace the responsibility of bridging the gap between what’s in our control and what isn’t. The process is unforgiving.
When you know your values, making decisions becomes easier. Similarly, when you know what the “torture” is that you’re comfortable with, the struggles that arise become easier to embrace because you understand the Why.
We are constantly faced with challenges in our lives. Some significant, and some very insignificant. Some battles are worth fighting, and some are not. Sometimes outcomes don’t go our way regardless of how much we’ve invested — we are entitled to nothing. Embracing both the wins and losses which come with working towards something is natural when we find the struggle we’re comfortable with.
Nothing in our lives is for certain because nothing comes easy. Never did. Never will. When we uncover the pursuit that allows us to withstand the challenges that come with it, we have ignited our authentic ambition.
Find the Why behind your struggle.
Brendan McNamara
MTD Co-Founder
Rowan Paoletti-Newton
(Contract in Negotiation)