1. The Myth of Deferred Enjoyment
We’re often taught (explicitly or implicitly) that joy is something that comes after the struggle:
- “Once I finish school…”
- “Once I get that job…”
- “Once I retire…”
This mindset can condition us to normalize endurance and postpone joy. We start to believe that suffering is a rite of passage — or even a requirement — for happiness. But the truth is, if we don’t learn how to find or allow enjoyment in small moments while enduring, we may never get to that part at all.
2. Fortitude Becomes an Identity
If you’ve had to be strong for a long time, you might find yourself living through your strength, rather than living your life. That toughness becomes how you navigate the world, and over time, it can crowd out softness, vulnerability, and yes — joy.
3. The Risk: Surviving Without Living
If fortitude becomes the focus, you risk staying in survival mode — mentally, emotionally, even spiritually. You may be getting by, but not fully alive. And there’s a quiet grief in that.
4. A Necessary Shift: Endurance + Enjoyment
It’s not that fortitude isn’t valuable — it is. It keeps you going when things are hard. But the goal is to make space for both:
- To know how to endure, and how to enjoy.
- To allow yourself peace without guilt.
- To build a life where survival isn’t the only goal — where presence, laughter, rest, and joy are not luxuries, but essentials.
A Thought to Hold Onto
“You didn’t come here just to be strong. You came here to be alive.”
What would it look like to stop proving how strong you are, and start letting yourself enjoy the life you’ve survived?