One need not be a Stoic to know the difference between a realist and a pessimist. Since there is no question about our inevitable death, the only question is how we choose to live.

While the reptilian brain seeks safety and comfort, the neocortex craves challenge and growth. This is the battle Arjuna faces in the Bhagavad Gita, the epic Hindu poem that can serve as one’s roadmap to leading a meaningful life.

Having experienced a tough childhood as a skinny Jewish kid in a rough Muslim country, I was convinced life would get easier if I could just make it to America. Once here, I was certain life would get easier once I mastered the language, adapted to the culture, and finished my education. Having then found myself alone and broke, I trusted that life would get easier once I established a career, made money, fell in love, and found a life partner.

Fast forward to having raised two kids and experienced a painful divorce, two heart attacks, multiple lawsuits, and other major financial losses, I have finally concluded that even though life may never get easier, one can learn to handle hard better.

Most of us experience this concept at the physical level in the gym as we struggle to bench press or do push-ups. Having finally achieved one goal, we set a higher one. So it is with our financial goals. Most ambitious young people consider a million dollars a huge fortune, only to set a new bar at $10M after achieving the earlier one.

Life is hard. The obstacle is the way.

— Sina.