If you're suffering, question it.

Suffering is a matter of perspective

Suffering is something we often see as negative, and some of you reading this may be experiencing it. Whether mental or physical, suffering is often a necessary part of progress. So ask yourself, why do you experience suffering?

People should be more often reminded of how they see a certain scenario. No matter how bad it is, the only choice you can make is to understand why it’s happening to you and what it contributes to your overall situation. Negative affirmation is common, or should I say the majority of what people think when suffering, but this is not a healthy way to live with suffering. If you see it as a negative affirmation, you will live it until the day you exhaust everything you’ve got to deal with that suffering.

My experience of suffering

I struggle with not making drastic changes in my life. Most of these struggles are mental and financial related, so while I won’t share anything too private, I can outline what I mean.

I’m a college student and, at the same time, broke. I have ambitious projects and goals to improve my life, but all of that costs money. The issue is that I’m taking too long to address these problems—being broke and bringing my projects to life. If I don’t act now, my options will become limited to paths I don’t want to take. That’s why I’m trying to seize the chances I have now to create options I actually want.

The next struggle is time. Every second counts in my life, and it feels like a race to shape my future. Deep down, I know I can’t afford mistakes that will cost me time, which leads to the core of my struggle—my parents. It terrifies me to see them growing older while I’m still not in a position to give back for the sacrifices they’ve made for me. For that reason alone, I want to give them everything I possibly can in this world.

These pains constantly remind me that it’s me who has to make the change. No one else can do it for me. My only option is to focus on the important tasks and goals that will help alleviate or even eliminate these struggles. Because the worst thing I could do is let life pass me by without taking action.

There’s a quote by Dostoevsky that resonates with this subject… ‘Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.’

But what if I tell you that suffering can be good? Seeing it from another perspective may change how you view suffering.

Is it sustainable?

Everything in our lives must be sustainable, and in the context of suffering, how sustainable can it be? We don’t need to suffer all the time; it’s a wrong approach and a way for us to shut down. If we keep seeing suffering as a “bad thing” (technically it is a bad thing, but life is not meant to be too comfortable), then in the long term, it will not be sustainable.

Suffering needs balance. If you work on something new that is very foreign to your brain, the comfort you usually know doesn’t exist. Think of an activity you can do flawlessly; the brain does not interpret it as a threat, so you don’t feel any discomfort. But what if you’re changing jobs? You feel anxious. This is the part where you need to embrace the suffering, stepping out of the comfort zone.

Going back to how sustainable it can be: suffering should help you progress and not set you back. If it sets you back, pause and review what’s wrong and what is holding you back from progress.

Make “suffering” right

There’s a quote from one of my favorite games called Death Stranding, where the Extinction Entity said “Pull the rope or cut the noose, but whatever you do, don’t hesitate.” Applying this quote to our context of suffering, you either embrace it or let it be.

So what will you choose, anon? The future is in your hands, and it is watching you… closely… silently…