Do you know what really hard is? Battling cancer. Being disfigured in a traffic accident and having to go through physical therapy to learn to walk again. Losing a limb in combat and learning to use a prosthetic. Having a stroke and being unable to walk or run. Being born with a condition that keeps you from walking or running. Heck, there are people born with all kinds of limiting afflictions. But these people don’t complain. They take their lot, they fight, and they persevere. Some may lost the battle, but not for lack of effort or for not having heart.

When people tell me that giving up grains is hard, I smile. I smile, because I think it would be incredibly rude of me to tell them to their face what I’m thinking, which is: “ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?! YOU THINK THAT’S HARD?!?!?!”

Whenever I am running and I need to motivate myself or if I find I’m no running hard enough, I pick up the pace and think about all the people I know who can’t run like I am. People who would give anything to be able to hit the pavement and run. When I first started my Whole30, I used the same thoughts to motivate me. I told myself, “This isn’t hard. All I have to do is NOT eat something. What’s hard would be wanting to eat and having no option. What’s hard is fighting cancer and having nausea so terrible that I can’t keep any food down. What’s hard is going through months or years of physical therapy. This is easy!” And you know what? It became easy. In time, it became a non-issue.

Just last night, my wife and I were checking out at a local grocery store, and I gazed upon the plethora of candies and chocolates on display. I felt nothing. I wasn’t tempted, and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. And it struck me; it was glorious.

Avoiding grains is not hard. It may be now, but when you put it into perspective and after you’ve done it for a while, it gets easier. Trust me; I’ve been there.