Bryan Johnson argues that everything he values requires pushing through pain. His regimen, Blueprint, involves self-imposed hardship like hunger and intense work. He distinguishes productive pain that leads somewhere from purposeless misery.
You know, one thing I've learned about life is that everything I value is on the other side of pain. It's kind of unpleasant to realize that, but it really is. I mean, you think about it. When you work out, you want to quit. When you push through it, you feel better. When you have a hard conversation with a loved one or a friend or someone at work, it always feels better. Blueprint is basically all pain all the time. It's being hungry, it's working really hard. It's doing things, but I want to do it. It's just constant pain. There's two forms of suffering. One to get you on the other side of what you value. And the other is being miserable. It's much harder being miserable.
