Marcus Aurelius, one of the most insightful Stoic authors said, “Ask: What is so unbearable about this situation? Why can’t you endure it? You will be embarrassed to answer.”
Today people might call this mental toughness. Notice how the question forces you to define what is “unbearable” and what can’t be “endured”. On one side, he’s obviously pushing you into mental toughness. But on the other side he’s saying: it’s a lot to bear and requires endurance. He doesn’t the difficulty. He doesn’t minimize the weight of the emotions. He says you’re capable of carrying the load.
Marcus Aurelius recognized and appreciated that you will feel pain, sadness, and heartbreak. There are windows of time you will grieve, cry, and need to decompress. Even for long periods.
What he points out and wants you to understand is that you are uniquely built to bear it all. You can endure the circumstances and feelings of the moment. There are valuable moments through all that emotion. There is valuable life after all that emotion. At some point, you wake up and keep going.
Discipline is the shortcut. Do the work.
This is what I call The DMGB Mindset. Read more about it here: Learn how to implement and apply The DMGB Mindset.
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