I wrote the “Prepare for discomfort” text on the 4th of June, 2025.
It was a day when I was rucking and doing street photography straight after my office job. I remember my thoughts before going out with a heavy rucksack on my back and shoulders. I was already tired before starting my walk. Noteworthy is that on that day, I did not carry the heaviest weight. For today, my record was taking over 10k steps with 37,5 kg (83 lbs) of an additional burden. Still, I know I won’t be walking to my office job with such a heavy piece of equipment. Undoubtedly, I would sweat before my office job with such a heavy backpack.
By thinking of preparing for discomfort, I meant that within the next hours, I would go out of the office with air-conditioning to a hot temperature (it was 27 degrees Celsius [81 degrees Fahrenheit]), and I would start heavily sweating for ten or fifteen minutes after starting walking.
I knew it wouldn’t be a pleasure. Also, it is not as pleasurable to take photos while sweating. Does it mean I plan to stop rucking? Of course not. I want to find pleasure in discomfort, even if I sometimes totally do not feel it. Still, I do rucking for myself to become a more robust human. My muscles have increased in efficiency since I started doing this exercise in mid-August 2024. Also, I recall that one year ago, I wrote a text in which I stated that I would consider walking in tremendous heat as a similar challenge to walking in freezing temperatures.
Today, while rucking, walking, sweating, and taking pictures on Warsaw’s streets, I had all these thoughts at once. Even though I felt discomfort and pain, and sweat was running down my face, I knew I must face all these things to become a better version of myself. Also, I do not plan to give up street photography. Until I walk and ruck, I will be taking pictures of whatever attracts my eyes.
