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☀️ Stoic Morning Minute: What Are You Avoiding?
Why running from discomfort only creates more of it
Jon High
February 26, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 1 minute
The avoidance of suffering is a form of suffering. The avoidance of struggle is a struggle. The denial of failure is a failure. Hiding what is shameful is itself a form of shame.
💭 Modern Translation
That important conversation you're dodging? The tough project you keep putting off? The emotion you're refusing to feel? The avoidance is causing you more suffering than facing it would. Your brain is spending precious energy building elaborate escape routes when the direct path would be shorter.
⚡️ Your Move
Next time you notice yourself avoiding something difficult today, pause and ask: "Am I suffering from the thing itself, or from avoiding it?" Then take one small action toward facing it directly. The relief is immediate, and the Stoics knew it: the anticipation of pain is usually worse than the pain itself.
You’re stronger than you think,
Jon