While physical endurance is important if you’re running a marathon or pushing through an exercise plateau, mental endurance can be just as critical when persevering through a difficult process or circumstance. And just like with the pursuit of physical stamina, being able to withstand the mental and emotional tolls of hardship or fatigue isn’t just a matter of willpower: it takes practice and habit to achieve. There are some common practices and mindsets found among those who have survived—and thrived—through outstanding feats of endurance, but identifying the exact spark that keeps us from throwing in the towel when things look hopeless is a unique journey.
It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for a bird to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
