The old adage no pain, no gain has been around for years. Usually when we think about no pain, no gain we are thinking about exercise but it can also apply to anything else that we are doing.
A new study looked at how people felt while doing tasks and how they felt afterward.
The findings were that while doing a difficult task people where stressed and not so happy. However, if they stuck with the task and achieved the goal or did the best that they could, afterwards they were happier than those who gave up.
This suggests that short term pain, did lead to a significant gain, when happiness was considered. This in turn led to a greater overall happiness.
This happiness effect was strongest when the painful task was something that was something the person had chosen that furthered their goals or interests.
This makes perfect sense to me. A feeling of accomplishment really makes you feel good about yourself, whereas if you give up before really giving something your best shot, you feel unhappy with yourself.
Go for it.
