Suffer Productively

I thought this principle was simple when I wrote it, I was wrong.

When reading through Camus’ “The Myth of Sisyphus” the first time, I had an epiphany regarding goals: they only work to a point. When we’re born, our ultimate end point is death. No goal is going to overwrite that.

The epiphany: I thought about post-marathon depression. Running a marathon takes months and months of training, not just physically but your mind has to be in the right place too. Then the event happens and it’s just…over. The next few days you get cheers and pats on the back, but nothing can encapsulate the feeling that happens BEFORE finishing.

The elation of knowing you’re going to complete the goal. Because what comes after the goal? You continue to live. Running that marathon didn’t solve anything, there were no points put on a scoreboard. You set a goal, you completed the goal, now you have to look in a mirror and say “what’s next?”

So, “suffer productively.” I suffer, I run a marathon, boom I’m a better person. Not really.

Suffering is different depending on who you ask. Schopenhauer thinks ALL of this is suffering and the only way to deal with it is withdrawing. I don’t. So set goals. suffer until they are done, and then set another goal.

Finish lines are imaginary but building blocks are not. No matter how you define suffering make it worthwhile.