Pain is temporary....

OK. What is this? The quote is from Lance Armstrong's (www.lancearmstrong.com) book Every secound counts. Most things you want demand some kind of pain. Physical, mental, monetary. You name it. The quote is about the pain that derives from just giving up and giving in. Quitting causes pain. But that is not temporary. You may get a new chance, but that is not the same.

As a long distance runner, the quote has become something as a mantra. Something I tell myself when I want to stop early. When I want to quit. When I want to take a shorter run. When it's rainy. But it applies to many situations in life.

But is it never OK to quit? Of course, sometimes just plain stupid carrying on. Like when I on a half marathon got some severe stomach problems half through the race. I spent some 10 minutes pulling myself together and completed the race. It was hot. I was dehydrated and I didn't drink anything during the remaining race in fear of getting sick again. I also felt I didn´t want to get sick on the sub home so my deluded brain told me to wait until coming home before refueling. Bad idea. Really bad idea. I barely made it home. That was stupid.

But one should never take the will to change for quitting. Leaving a bad situation for a better one does not mean failure or quitting. But what is the difference? Perhaps how you felt about it in retrospect. Dunno.