Lesson Four: The Mountain Is You

“The worst thing that’s ever happened to you is still the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.”

I don’t know who originally said that, but I’ve heard Joe Rogan repeat it at least 100 times—and it’s always stuck with me.

Pain Doesn’t Scale

What shattered me might not even faze someone else. But the mistake I used to make was believing that someone else’s suffering somehow invalidated mine.

Naval Ravikant said, “The enemy of peace of mind is expectations.”

And man, I’ve carried so many expectations of who I should be by now, how strong I should be. But I never gave myself credit for not yet having the chance to become that person.

When life hit hard, I didn’t just endure the pain—I started arguing with it.

This shouldn’t be happening.

I should be past this.

I’m stronger than this.

That voice wasn’t always wrong. But it was never the whole story.

Struggle Is Formative

Not inspirational. Not poetic. Just… necessary.

It carved away parts of me that weren’t built to last. Not because life is meant to be suffering, but because suffering showed me what I could survive.

I was listening to a podcast recently, and Alex Hormozi stated, “You are perfectly designed to get the results you are currently getting.”

That one hit hard, because when I was stuck, I realized I had built the system that kept me there.

My habits. My thoughts. My environment.

They were all doing their job perfectly. Just not the job I wanted them to do.

I didn’t need motivation. I needed a new framework.

I needed to nut the fuck up.

Responsibility Changed Everything

Here’s the truth that finally stuck:

I am where I am because of me.

My decisions. My actions. My inaction.

It wasn’t about blame—it was about agency.

Because if I built this life, even unintentionally… then I could rebuild and reshape it, deliberately.

That realization didn’t make it easier. It made it heavier, because the change felt harder than the pain I’d gotten used to carrying.

But I wasn’t powerless.

I was responsible.

And that responsibility? It wasn’t a burden—it was a gift.

A Message From My Future Self

Sometimes I picture him—my future self.

Watching me.

Sometimes he’s patient.

Sometimes he’s frustrated.

But always, he’s hoping I’ll stop negotiating with my potential and start honoring it.

Looking back, I’ve never regretted giving something my full effort—even if I didn’t get the outcome I hoped for.

I have regretted holding back because I was afraid my best wouldn’t be enough.

That’s when I coasted. Numbed out. Just survived.

But what if I didn’t?

I don’t have to wait until my deathbed to have the proverbial moments of regret.

You and I can reflect now and realize that some moments in life have passed and are gone forever.

What If the Pressure Is the Point?

What if instead of shrinking, I let the pressure mold me into someone worthy of the struggle?

Perspective doesn’t mean pretending everything’s okay.

I

t means realizing that pain isn’t a detour—it’s the way forward.

That today’s frustration might just be tomorrow’s fuel.

When I can see things like that, even the worst things I’ve been through start to feel like stepping stones.

Final Thoughts

I don’t need perfect clarity.

I just need to move.

I don’t need to feel strong.

I just need to act like someone who is.

The rest will come.

So if I’m in it right now… I stay.

I hold the line.

Because there’s hope, not in the absence of struggle, but in how I respond to it.

The mountain I’m climbing isn’t in front of me.

It’s inside me.