Good Evening ,
“Life is both pleasure and pain, is it not? But why should we cling to pleasure and avoid pain? Why not merely live with both? If you cling to pleasure what happens? You get attached, do you not?” — Jidda Krishnamurti
No matter what we choose in life, there are always pains and pleasures attached to it. Greek philosopher Epicurus, taught that humanity’s goal should be to minimize pain and maximize pleasure. In many ways, we often approach life in this way.
However, I would offer that pain and pleasure are an inevitable part of every life experience. For example, people may feel restricted
and controlled working for a corporation; they may desire the perceived flexibility of entrepreneurship. They want their own schedule, wake up when they want, and serve whom they want. Their 9-5 job simply consumes so much time, it’s tough to do the things they really want to do.
The inverse of this interpretation that’s equally as true, is that a 9-5 job provides a steady paycheck, stability and predictability.
If you are sick or take vacation the job has paid time off, versus life as an entrepreneur, where if you don’t work, you don’t get paid.
Ultimately, life is an experience that involves both pleasures and pains. Our goal is not to escape one or the other, but rather to
normalize that the existence of both is what informs our decisions and brings understanding to what we want and don’t want in life. Mark Manson shares this explicit insight in his book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck which is, “What are you willing to suffer for?”
I leave you with the challenge to no longer judge pain and suffering as good or bad. But rather embrace it as a necessary element of
self-growth and development. It is this that amplifies the voice that matters, yours!
