I was reading a book written by an ex-Navy SEAL some time back, and he talked about part of the SEAL induction process which is called Hell Week. As the name suggests, Hell Week is a grueling week of intense and unrelenting physical training, pain and sleep deprivation, meant to test the physical and mental limits of all the candidates to see if they have what it takes.
An interesting thing he mentioned was the fact that the athletically gifted ones were usually the ones to give up first, whereas the less athletic ones who were used to digging deep and doing it tough would persevere and were mentally stronger, and so were more likely to make it through the process.
It made me think, we shouldn’t envy people for whom fitness and being in great shape comes easy. We’re all different and even if we’re not natural athletes, the fact that we have to work harder and push ourselves through more pain to achieve what some others do effortlessly, benefits us in other ways. It makes us mentally stronger and allows us to be prouder of our achievements. After all, success isn’t just about what you achieve, but what you have to go through to achieve it!