Sometimes you have to cry in order to smile in the end. As I explained in Emotions Exposed, Passion Tears are signals that you care. The reason many people don’t reach their goals is because they don’t say “Enough is Enough“, and really feel the disappointment they’re going through. And sometimes when a situation doesn’t hurt enough, the spark to ignite one to greatness is just not there. People become content being mediocre or losing because they convince themselves it’s not so bad. This is a tricky post to dissect because it ties to mindset control essentially – Are you capable of embracing your adversity just enough to jumpstart your growth, without fearing that doing so would be self-destructive? There’s a certain toughness you develop when you stay true to your hardships. Find out.

Ray Lewis speaking at his TED Talk Unexpected (17:21) – “Pain is a repetition of the psyche. And [you must] learn to figure it out, [you must] learn how to tap it on the back and say, ‘I know you’re there. But I’m built to deal with you.’ I don’t want anybody to leave here today and not understand why we must find a way to push through pain to understand that on the other side of that is glory.”

Eric Thomas (00:34) – “The thing that I love most about Michael Jordan was the last time he lost to the Pistons he cries. And when he walked off the court with the tears in his eyes … when you get so tired of losing, when you get pissed, when you can’t take losing no more, you lose the whole ‘shake the hand’ thing and Mike walked off with a tear in his eye & let me tell you something – he walked off & said to himself, ‘This will be the last time the Pistons ever beat me again!”

– CR Inspired