"No Pain, No Gain", cliche sure but true. In this day and age of comfort and convenience, all we ever want is for everything to be easy and effortless. Most people prefer to just buy their own excercise equipment, workout on their own and avoid people (pain). But honestly guys what's life without some pain? What's life if we don't work hard for things that will actually give us some meaning and sense of accomplishment. And when I say hardwork, I'm not only referring to actual work or 9-5 but doing things that will give us some good rewards (insert HIVE here), not that quick dopamine or instant gratification stuff.
There are a lot of things that we can do that will make us feel good for ex. doing something from scratch like art, cooking, writing... there are no shortcuts and we actually have to make an effort to get some good results. Okay don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a self-help guru here but I'm just gonna share with y'all what brings me back to actively seeking out pain, the good pain, in order to actually feel good again. I hope that makes sense.
I miss months of boxing and workout sessions due to excessive gaming. I've been escaping reality by immersing myself in this virtual world only to find out that the pain is still there. It didn't escape me. I will always miss my best friend, I will still feel lonely, and I will still engage with human beings no matter how much I avoid them irl. These are all part of the pain. I'd wasted so much time trying to avoid the inevitable only to find myself back there. This time though (for the nth time in my life sigh) I would like to channel all these intense emotions (anger, hate, love, guilt) through working out because nothing beats deliberately putting myself into physical discomfort in order to feel better physically and mentally.
A lot of people that I know always tell me, "oh you don't need to go to the gym, oh you don't need to excercise, oh you're fit enough" etc. Sure, but most of them don't realize that excercise is actually more for my mental health than for my body. Hell, if I only want to be thin, I'll just go on hunger strike or vomit everything lol. The most difficult, the most high maintenance, the most inconsistent part of Me is my mind. Our minds can fuck us up if we don't take good care of it. Do you know how hard it is to put yourself out there? To start over every time you relapse. To go back from 0 and restart the whole taking-care-of-my-mind process again. Be kind to your mind. Mind-care is a lifelong journey.
If I can do it, so can you. I remember being in the hospital a couple of months ago and the doctor told me that mental pain is difficult and unbearable. Many people thought that it's only physical pain that makes us suffer. I'd rather seek physical pain if that means alleviating mental pain. A lot of people also underestimate the power of excercise. It's the closest thing you can get to "physical pain", the good one, in order to feel better mentally. In order to get those organic happy chemicals. So yeah, I just need to be consistent in my workout routine and always remind myself not to fall back into the darkness because I already know how it is to be there...It's dark, it's diabolic, a lot of evil things going on in there and I don't miss it at all.
Our boxing gym is now my other "happy place" aside from our pool hall and I can't stress enough the benefits of consistent physical activity. I know it's easier not to go out, face people (ugh) and just do the workout at home, but for me the point is to actively do whatever that is a bit uncomfortable and painful because that's where I'll get the best benefits. And the rewards are, feeling good mentally, not being diabolic to people, getting motivation from coaches, a very nice bod (wink) of course, and a deep sense of accomplishment for actually making an effort to not only take care of myself but also to put myself out there. Again.
Welcome back to the world - it's harsh but FYI there are still nice things... :)
Uhmmm yeah, he can be nice.
