"There's beauty in the struggle, ugliness in the success." That's a line from the J. Cole song Love Yours. The line was the ear worm I had this morning when I woke up. I don't know why, I don't remember listening to the song recently. Anyway there it was playing on repeat in my head as I showered this morning. So I started thinking about the line. It's just a play on the various "it's the journey, not the destination" quotes. I'm sure you've heard some version of those quotes but when was the last time you thought about it?
People are all about quick results. "I lifted on Monday and did a HIIT class on Tuesday, I should be #jacked by Friday." We all know that's not how it works but still our expectations get the best of us.
Have you ever had quick success that a) lasted and b) you took a real life lesson from? I would venture to guess that you remember the wins that you had to work for in a lot more detail.
I would also question what you had to do to get your quick success. For instance, I can guarantee that if you only ate one meal of 8oz of boiled chicken and a cup of steamed veggies every day for two weeks that you will lose weight. Your friends and family probably won't want to be around after a couple of days but hey. There's ugliness in the success.
I've listened to tons of interviews of successful athletes and even gamblers. One thing that seems to come up in all of these interviews is that they always remember the losses that helped shaped their careers. Professional poker players can explain bad beats in painstaking detail. Basketball players remember everything from where other players were on the court down to the mechanics of the shot they missed in that big game.
The thing is, even though they remember them, they don't dwell on these losses. They learn from them and then they apply what they learned in other situations. There's beauty in the struggle.
I think this is what separates successful professional athletes (actually successful anythings) from the average joe. First off they finish. Most people start something, then it gets hard and then they stop. Then to make it worst when asked about the experience all they say was that it was hard. Meaning they didn't get anything else out of it that can be used at a later time.
So next time you feel like you're looking for a quick win or you feel like giving up, remember the beauty and lessons are in the struggle and that quick success comes with ugliness in the form of hidden problems.
