One thing I realised upon returning home after two weeks in Italy is the reason why I felt agitated, restless and generally depressed the last few days of the holiday. Many feel this way towards the end of a holiday because they dread returning to their normal, everyday lives of work, responsibility, worries, anxieties etc. I was sad to leave such a beautiful place for sure, however I felt agitated partly because I was not voluntarily struggling and therefore was involuntarily struggling.

On a purely physical level, two weeks of gorging myself on some of the most delicious but fatty, starchy, salty, sugary and rich food, barely exercising, barely writing and generally indulging in pleasure and avoiding pain would surely have an effect on my brain and therefore my mental state. This surely would also cause my body to turn sluggish. It seems by becoming accustomed to pressing on the pain side of the pleasure/pain balance that operates in my brain, I now crave that feeling of dopamine that follows. When I exercise, when I plunge myself into ice-cold water, when I write these words, when I read, when I record, all of these things are difficult but the feeling that follows, that’s what I crave and when I do the opposite for too long, my brain responds negatively. You might be thinking why the hell would anyone want that? Well, for me, it beats dreading the return flight. It’s better to rest but know when it’s time to get back to work and crave it.

When the rest starts to cause pain, restlessness or anxiety, it’s time to get back to work

By becoming accustomed to voluntarily embracing suffering, we alter our brain chemistry so that when we fail to do so or when we do the opposite, it responds negatively urging us to get back to work, to get back to the struggle. Pleasure follows struggle but pain follows pleasure. We are either in the cycle of continually pressing on the pleasure side followed by pain causing us to press on the pleasure side to avoid the pain and so on. Or we are in the cycle of continually pressing on the pain side followed by pleasure followed by pressing on the pain side and so on. The former causing addiction, obesity, depression, anxiety and unnecessary pain and the latter, if utilised healthily, causing productivity, physical and psychological strength and motivational and productive pleasure. I’m not suggesting that you never rest or take a break, just that when the rest starts to cause pain, restlessness or anxiety, it’s time to get back to work.

Keep On Struggling,

Gregor

Song I’m Enjoying - Heartbreak Kid by The Vaccines

I always look forward to new music from The Vaccines and this quintessential and typical song from them reveals why; catchy chorus, punchy guitars and drums, melodic bass line, Brit pop vocals and melancholy lyrics contrasted by an upbeat rhythm.

App I’m Using - Opal

I started using this app as a way to avoid distracting apps and content on my phone and it’s brilliant. It allows you to choose which apps to block, when to block them and how strict you would like the block to be, the strongest setting being “deep focus” meaning you cannot edit or stop the block once it begins. When you click on an app that’s blocked a motivational quote pops up preventing you from opening it.

Your Struggle Short of the Week

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Quote to Ponder

Sometimes you need to allow life to save you from getting what you want - Brandon Stanton

References

1) Image Credit - RawPixel

2) The Vaccines Image - Soundcloud

3) Opal Image - Opal X Account