Lesson #16: No Pain No Gain

There is a reason this is an old adage known to all. Because it's true. Sort of. They key is figuring out when to persevere, sweat, suffer, and when to say enough is enough. I went for a deep tissue massage today, one of my favorite forms of torture. That is a level of pain I have only experienced a few times in my life, but it is the type of excruciating agony that you know is going to make you feel better in the long run. Ungluing all that fascia, working out the memory of those frozen muscles stuck in old habits is the only way to move forward, free your mind and ease the pain. Ok, so I'm not just talking about therapeutic massage, but all types of therapy. And to invoke another favorite cliche, it's always darkest before the dawn. When it seems hopeless, futile, infuriating, that is probably the point at which something is about to give. But how do you stay optimistic when you are on the verge of giving up? How do you trust that this particular form of purgatory is going to get you to the other side? Breathe. Count to 10. Visualize a point in time when all of this suffering is going to pay off. And pray like only a Jewish atheist can.