Learning to enjoy the pain

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is not.”

Running long distances is painful, but I don’t suffer through them. After all, I do it willingly and look forward to engaging in this painful activity. Sometimes, I get bruised, black toes, sunburned, and am completely exhausted.

So why do I want to run longer distances, and are all marathon runners crazy?

Yes, you could say that most runners are a bit crazy for wanting to run for hours.

But the neurological explanation is dopamine. Yesterday, I listened to a podcast by Sahil Bloom where he explained how his morning cold water plunges give him a dopamine boost for the whole day or more.

I could relate to that, as running does the same for me. The dopamine released after a painful activity like running, swimming, cycling, trekking or any exerting sport is long-lasting and powerful. It keeps you energetic, lively, and at peace for a much longer time. My day is always better if I start it with a run or any workout. I am at peace, active, and cheerful for a long time after it.

This is in stark contrast to the cheap and easy dopamine released from social media, smoking, drinking, drugs or any such easily accessible activity. It may make you feel happy for a bit, but it is short-lived, and after continuous repetition, it makes you feel depressed and anxious. I have experienced this myself: if I spend more than, let’s say half an hour on social media, I feel good at the moment, but it leaves me with a lurking dissatisfaction for some time. The same applies to drinking; it may feel good at the moment, but every single time, I feel dejected the next day.

That realization has made a lot of difference, and I wouldn’t want to get back to drinking or anything similar. And why should I? I have so many different amazing activities like running, swimming, and trekking that may feel painful for some time, but leave me feeling powerful and peaceful for a long time.

You have to learn to endure pain anyway, as pain is inevitable. Learning something difficult, going out of your comfort zone, and building something is painful, but it is also very rewarding. Suffering through it is a choice, and one can learn to enjoy the painful process.