We all love a good struggle story.
You pushed through the pain. You crawled through the mud. You clawed your way to the top, bloodied but victorious. There’s something primal and poetic about doing the hard thing—especially when you didn’t have to.
Joe De Sena, founder of Spartan and the king of the “suffer more” philosophy, has made a career out of glorifying that mindset. His recent Spartan LinkedIn post drove the point home again:
“I implore you to take the hard way. Because nothing stays hard forever.”
And you know what?
He’s not wrong. Grit is valuable. Pushing through when it sucks can forge something unbreakable in you.
But here’s where I start to diverge:
Doing hard things isn’t the point.
Becoming better is.
There’s a line between resilience and performance art.
What used to feel like a movement—about rising above comfort, building character, and fostering community—has, in recent years, started to feel more like a brand gimmick.
The message has shifted from “become stronger” to “suffer harder.”
From “transform your life” to “buy into our image.”
And somewhere along the way, it feels like the mission got lost.
Events got more expensive. The experience got watered down. Core fans drifted away. The people who built the brand—both inside and outside the company—got burned out or pushed out. And for what? More merchandise? Another licensing deal?
There’s nothing wrong with building a business. But when hard becomes a product instead of a principle, the whole thing starts to collapse under the weight of its own ego.
Grit is essential. But ego? That’ll burn you out.
We’ve built a culture—especially in endurance and entrepreneurship—where the grind is glorified. Where doing it the hard way becomes a badge of honor. Where pain becomes identity.
But here’s the thing:
Pain without purpose is just punishment.
Struggle without strategy is just noise.
I’ve seen it in racing. I’ve seen it in business. I’ve seen it in myself.
You don’t need to bleed to grow. You don’t need to collapse at the finish line to call it a win. You don’t need to do it the hard way just to prove that you can.
You need to do it the right way. The intentional way. The way that serves your goals, your values, and your people.
Because the point of doing hard things isn’t to look tough. It’s to become someone capable of making the world better—whether that’s through leading a team, raising a family, or building something that lasts.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
- Endurance matters—but so does direction.
- Struggle builds strength—but only if you recover.
- Hard should be a tool, not a brand.
So yeah, respect to Joe for helping people embrace difficulty. But let’s stop pretending that choosing the harder path automatically makes you better. And let’s definitely stop following leaders who’ve turned hardship into ego theater.
Do hard things.
Do smart things.
And most of all—do things that matter.
Inspired by a recent post from Joe De Sena on LinkedIn.
Screenshot below for reference.
