Excellence Is the Capacity to Take Pain

I shamelessly stole this quote from David Senra, creator of the Founders podcast.

“Excellence is the capacity to take pain.”

For me, Kobe Bryant was the perfect exemplification of this principle.

I once heard Bryant explain his approach when a teammate invited him to party and have drinks:

“Sure” he would say, and he’d go partying with the teammate.

The next morning, at a crazy-early time between 4:00 and 5:00 am., Bryant would knock on the door of the teammate’s hotel room.

“The hell do you want?!” the teammate would ask.

“We did YOUR thing” Bryant would reply, “now let’s do MINE.” He would then force the teammate to go train with him before the sun had even risen.

The teammate would be dying on the court. Bryant would be fresh, as usual. 

Accustomed to this type of pain, this was merely another day in the office for him.

Kobe Bryant is recognized as one of the most intense pain-takers in the history of sports.

The result: pure, formidable, inspiring excellence.

We’ve all had at least one experience where enduring huge pain has become a deep source of satisfaction.

At work. At sports. In every-day life—our most painful times are usually the ones that make us the most proud.

But the most crucial thing about pain is that it is necessary for humans to bloom, to evolve, to thrive.

Senra’s quote “excellence is the capacity to take pain” is an invitation to look the harshness of life to the eyes and embrace it instead of running from it.

To move that complex project forward.

To have those difficult conversations.

To build that skill.

And to do all the things that we know we should be doing already but are not because of the pain they involve—the pain of failure, of ridicule, of effort.

We should take that pain. Regularly. Willingly. With character.

Otherwise, we will not be excellent.

And in the age of AI…

Who thrives without being excellent?