“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
—Theodore Roosevelt
I think now more than ever people struggle with commitments. Whether it’s committing to a relationship, committing to do a job and maintain performance, committing to eat healthy and exercise, committing to read and self-improvement, etc. People seem to lack the discipline that commitment requires. If they do decide to commit, the first sign of struggle they decide to abandon the commitment, to discard the person and find someone else, to switch jobs, to eat the sweets or drink the alcohol or skip the gym, to put down the book when it becomes difficult or dry, or just accept the character flaw.
I think this has something to do with our preoccupation with happiness and pleasure, which is a result of some external satisfaction. It seems people decide to do what makes them happy, and when it stops making them happy, they simply do something else. And they end up frantically searching in vain for a happiness that requires no real discipline or effort or struggle.
I don’t believe life is about happiness. I believe life is about the labor and struggle to build and create something lasting, and that this produces joy, which is a result of a deep internal satisfaction, and which I believe is far more enduring. But these moments of joy, while more enduring, are still not the point of life. You don’t get joy unless you struggle to build and achieve.
It’s like… Our culture tells us “Do what makes you happy!” And you think “But I’m not happy…” And everyone says “So do something else!”
And so you run from the discomfort and pain and struggle, and you never grow. Never build. Never achieve. And you grow old and these habits remain, and you look back and have no legacy, nothing to show. You’ve made no commitment to building and achieving. You’d rather do what’s easy and feels good.
And it’s like… At the end of the day what have you got? What have you created? What have you built? What have you achieved? What do you have to show? No deep romantic love or strong family bonds, no career or expertise, no health, no change in interests or skills.
I think it also comes down to values and ideals and virtues. You commit to these things not because they make you happy, but because they provide the foundation to build a life and goals and achievements. If you commit to happiness, and it dissipates at the first sign of pain or struggle, you’ll abandon it. Whether it’s a person or a job or healthy habits or whatever I mentioned before.
I believe a person’s character can be measured by his commitment to certain values. This person remains unswayed in the face of pain or conflict or struggle, and they stay on course. They are committed to building a life and realizing their ideals, regardless of how they feel. Not chasing fleeting feelings or easy pleasure. Achievement requires commuting to what is necessary, not what is easy. Life is hard. It is difficult. And the sooner you fully embrace that, the more successful you will become.
