“I did not choose pain. I chose where it lives.” – Viktor Frankl
Passion comes from the Latin passio. It means suffering. Enduring. What you are willing to undergo.”I did not choose pain. I chose where it lives.”
Somewhere along the way, we softened it.
Today, following your passion usually means following what feels good. What excites you. What brings pleasure. That version collapses the moment things get hard. Enthusiasm is fragile. Pleasure is fleeting.
The older meaning asks a different question.
What are you willing to endure.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu hurts. It is uncomfortable. It is humbling. It exposes weakness and removes excuses.
I trained for months with a strained LCL. In live rounds I gave up my back because I could not move the way I needed to. If I escaped without using the bad leg, I stayed. If I did not, I got strangled.
I kept coming back.
Not because it felt good.
Because it made sense.
Multiple sclerosis guarantees suffering. Fatigue. Weakness. Progression that does not ask permission. That suffering exists whether I choose it or not.
Jiu Jitsu does not remove it.
It gives it direction.
On the mats, effort matters. Choices matter. Showing up matters. I can endure pain that has meaning far more easily than pain that feels random and imposed.
That is why I train.
Not because I am chasing happiness. Not because I am trying to outrun my disease. But because this is the suffering I would choose again.
Passion is not what makes life easy. It is what you are willing to carry when life is hard.
BJJ does not distract me from my life.
It explains it.
If this is what it means to follow your passion, then this is mine.