I came across a video of the Indian Army special forces training, in which the soldiers have to run 100 km, with a 17 kg load. I thought it was borderline impossible but their trainer had a different take on it.
In the video, the trainer says, “If we give them a single 100km loop, they will manage it easily. So to test their mental strength, we make them do a 30km loop three times.” (Plus another 10km stretch.)
So when you do the 30km loop, your mind is already agonizing over the next 30 km repeat of that! And apparently, what defeats you is not the physical pain, but that mental agony.
If even in something as grueling as a 100km run, our mind creates more pain than the body, then aren’t all our struggles in our mind?
If you are ambitious, you will have big goals. And those goals will take years if not decades. (Sorry for the bad news.)
The problem is not that you can’t do the work — the problem is that your mind won’t keep quiet — it will keep crying, “Another 30km to go!!”
Always, always, always…the real struggle is in the mind.
The question is — can we ignore the agony in our head and keep going?
– Rajan