In a world where we could have just about everything we want at a moment’s notice, we have to pick and choose where we allocate our energy and always remember that while good things are fleeting,

Maybe I’m feeling a bit prickly from going from 80 degrees back to whatever this weather is in NYC, but I’ve got some tough love for you today. (This is also the same Adrian who programs those classes that make you curse.)

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Raise your hand if you’ve heard someone say proudly (or said it yourself), “I was up all night focusing on…” Or what about, “yeah, I pushed through that workout with an injured XYZ”?

I’ve been guilty of it, and I’m sure there is a chance that you have too. It’s a huge part of hustle culture, boss mentality, no days off, the belief that the more you kill yourself, the farther you’ll get.

If you’re exhausted, you must be important.

If you’re overwhelmed, you must be ambitious.

If you’re struggling, you must be doing something meaningful.

If you’re injured, then you must be tough.

We work so hard to have a full calendar and be miserable about it, enjoying absolutely none of it, when in reality, the real goal is the luxury of having an empty calendar.

What sparked this recently was hearing talk around people being proud of doing things injured or working themselves so hard that they crash. Yes, it’s an honor to be busy and to have things that require your attention, but why are we so proud about being so miserable? It teaches us to strive for success through misery, that we don’t deserve to be well-regulated AND successful.

The issue I’m addressing isn’t to positive-wash your life, things like unexpected medical problems, demands of having kids, financial hardship, and all the things you can’t just walk away from are real and require space and attention. 

I’m talking about manufactured struggling.

Manufactured struggle is when you are proud of overworking yourself in a way that is getting you nowhere but an express trip to Crash Out Central. When you’re choosing to get almost no sleep (and bragging about it) because you’re trying to accomplish the schedule of three people in one day. When you have an endless catalogue of other workouts you could try, but you purposely choose the one that’s going to hurt you more. 

Telling me that you worked out injured like it’s a badge of honor doesn’t impress me. It shows you have little care for yourself or your longevity, and you’re stuck in Instant Gratification Land (a neighbor of Crash Out Central).

If your argument is that you love doing a certain type of fitness and it makes you feel better mentally or is where your community lies, which is why you’re ignoring the pain, I understand that, but I reject that as a reason.

In the long run, you’re not doing anything productive for yourself; in fact, you could be setting yourself up to intensify your injury or give yourself a brand new one due to overcompensating. Pain is your body’s way of giving you a warning and telling you that your check engine light is on. If you ignore that, you’re going to end up driving straight to Spiral City, no matter where you want to go. But hey, talk to your doctor, not some guy in a newsletter.

The same can be said for your mental well-being. Burning both ends of the candle is a really inefficient way to burn a candle if you're just trying to make a room smell nice, so why would you live your life that way?

Simply put, if most of us are proud of how little sleep we’re getting, how stressed out we are, and how strained our minds are, we’re probably either really bad with our time, unrealistic with our expectations, or don’t have our priorities figured out. Maybe you don’t need productivity hacks; maybe you just need to close the app.

You don’t get a medal for achieving something while feeling so burnt out that you just want to sleep for three days. So why are we shouting about it to everyone who will listen? Would you purposely let a kid get so over-tired that they melt down? Why would you treat grown you any differently than baby you? You don’t deserve any less.

Part of the problem is that life requires us to make choices and prioritize things. But we forget that. 

We want it all, and we want it all delivered with rush shipping and white-glove service. Getting it yesterday is not soon enough.

Let’s not confuse suffering and burnout with sacrifices. Sacrifices are often necessary. You sacrifice time with your friends to grow your career. You sacrifice vacations to grow your funds. You sacrifice late nights for early morning workouts. 

This type of sacrifice comes when you are working towards something that aligns with your priorities. Your loved ones, your career, your passion, your fitness. You know that there is a trade-off because you can’t do it all. There is a clear goal or time period, and it doesn’t always need to be that deep:

“I will go to bed early for 8 weeks, so I am rested when I get up early to train for _____happening on (this date).”

It’s a sacrifice for a goal for a season of your life. You’re giving up something for a set period of time, but it’s not that dramatic. If you do it right, there aren’t lasting repercussions. We get into trouble when we believe that we must be miserable to achieve something and aren’t willing to make sacrifices.

I got into debt because I was trying to live a life that wasn’t mine. I was trying to fit into rooms I had no business being in. Not because I was any less of a person, but because I just simply didn’t have the money to keep up with the partying. I was convinced that spending money directly equated to my worth and whether or not people would like me. Any stress that came from this was a badge of honor: I was struggling to be great. 

It was that same frame of mind that caused me to have surgery on a recurring elbow issue. Had I been realistic and not taken pride in doing it all and suffering through the pain, I probably could have made enough modifications to avoid surgery. But I fell victim to the desire to try to do it all.

How does this relate to the pursuit of one’s Great Things? 

If you’re miserable, tired, burnt out, and hurt, and proud of it, will there even be space for you to be able to enjoy it when you achieve your Great Things? You also may have gotten so used to celebrating the pain that the pleasure from success is going to feel weird and like it’s unworthy of your attention.

But more importantly, if you push yourself hard until you break down, you won’t be able to continue when things fall apart. It’s why people’s New Year's resolutions fall apart; they do too much too soon and can’t maintain it. No one is meant to live a life of pain, no matter how trendy it may seem.

If you only pause to reflect on your life for one moment today, do it now.

Where in your life are you wearing exhaustion as a badge of honor? What would it look like to pursue the same goals without glorifying the struggle?

Your turn! Journal your answer, or if you find yourself sharing the progress of your Great Things on social, tag me at @greatthingswith_adrian so I can join in on cheering you along!

Here’s to the people out there achieving their Great Things!

Chef Antony Nassif is the owner and Executive Chef of Hen House, a Lebanese restaurant located in the East Village… for now. Chef Antony has some pretty Great plans for Hen House, and its current location, status, and menu aren’t going to be what they are forever.

Watch the fourth episode of Great Things below to hear Chef Antony’s story, what goes into Hen House’s cuisine, and why a pancake brought a boost to Hen House and stress to me.

Good luck watching this and not getting hungry.

Tune in every few weeks for more episodes of Great Things on IG, Tiktok and full episodes on YouTube.

Know of a Great Thing that we should spotlight?

Because no matter what, there is always something to smile about.

Yes, I was in L.A. for lululemon’s Studio Yet, but I think we all only really care that Frankie was there. Below is Frankie receiving his post-class cooldown scritchies. He programmed a lot of squats which is why he needed extra attention. It’s kinda an odd add to the program since his back legs are so short, but hey, to each their own.

Frankie also took a morning walk down Hollywood Boulevard and saw a bunch of neat sights (and took a lot of pees). The warm California air made his coat look niiiiiiice. 10/10 he will be back, especially if he gets to sleep on the plane the whole way back.