Enduring the pain of growth! Last week, I shared why it’s important to Work While You Wait for Opportunity. If you don’t get the promotion you’re hoping for, or if you want to advance in your career but the timing isn’t right, how you react to that means a lot. You can sulk, feel sorry for yourself and let your performance plummet, which pushes you further from your goal. Or you can work while you wait, stacking good days upon good days, good weeks upon good weeks and good months upon good months.
Part of doing that is being able to endure the pain of growth. I recently listened to The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway, one of my favorite podcasts. He interviewed Jesse Itzler, another favorite of mine, and they discussed how many entrepreneurs have a background in endurance sports. For example, Jesse Itzler is an ultramarathoner, and Scott Galloway, while in college, was a rower. Although rowing isn’t exactly an endurance sport, it’s a sprint that requires enduring significant pain. There are some people who are willing to endure pain and be uncomfortable in order to succeed.
Building your career can be uncomfortable and frustrating. Not everything goes straight up and to the right like the ideal success graph that we often envision. In reality, success is full of peaks, valleys, setbacks, rejections and failures. These challenges sound manageable until you’re in the midst of them. It’s the people who can endure these difficulties, grow from them and make the necessary adjustments who tend to win in the end. It’s about playing the long game.
This is what I’ve experienced in my career, and it’s what I’ve seen in the most successful people. So, can you endure the pain of growth, the pain of patience and the discomfort that comes with it all to reach your ultimate goal? I hope you can!
