The more I do rucking and expose my body to cold (by taking cold showers and walking in summer clothes in frigid temperatures), the more I see that these two activities are closely related to toughness.
Accepting and dealing with pain is deeply intertwined with being tough, rugged, and robust. I believe that not only while rucking and exposing the body to cold, but in our whole life, we should set our mindset not to fight and avoid pain (both in a mental and physical aspect), but accept it. Paradoxically, by doing it, we would make our lives easier in the long term, but in the short term, it would really hurt. It is our job and toughness to accept, embrace, and overcome this pain to become much more powerful people, both in physical and mental aspects.
It is our duty to accept pain in the same way as we accept our different moods or states of mind. Pain has been with humanity since the very beginning, is, and will continue to exist until the end of our civilization, and there is little we can do to avoid or fear it. Embrace pain, my Dear Friend, and your life will paradoxically become easier (even if it hurts – cold and doing rucking really hurts).
What can be the first steps to embrace pain? I would list mine:
1) taking cold showers;
2) walking in summer clothes in freezing temperatures;
3) rucking (walking with a heavy rucksack; for today [I wrote this text on the 8th of September, 2025], my record is walking with a backpack that weighed 37.5 kg [83 lbs]).
For me, being tough does not mean avoiding pain. It means accepting and trying to embrace it as much as possible.
For example, yesterday, when I was returning from the hectic walk with a 37.5 kg on my back and shoulders, during the last 25% of my return, I was talking to myself that pain was something normal and that it was supposed to hurt. That’s how I was embracing pain and elevating the level of my toughness. Also, I remember the first time I took a cold shower, how my body resisted, and how uncomfortable it was. But I persisted, and now, it’s a part of my routine.
When I feel freezing water pouring on my body, I tell myself to enjoy it. Simply. All these experiences have taught me that embracing pain is not about enduring suffering, but about growing stronger and more resilient. It’s about pushing past our limits and discovering our true potential by telling ourselves that pain is a simple, floating feeling and there is nothing to worry about it.
