On Choice, Control, and Conscious Effort
The line “The biggest privilege is being able to choose your struggles” doesn’t belong to any one philosopher or writer, but it captures one of life’s most honest truths: you can’t live without struggle — but you can decide which ones are worth it.
It took me years to understand how powerful that idea really is. When you’re younger, you imagine that success means escaping struggle. But as you grow, you realize the opposite is true — success is about directing your struggle toward something meaningful. Everyone fights uphill battles. Privilege isn’t about avoiding difficulty; it’s about choosing which mountains you want to climb.
I’ve felt that truth most clearly in two places: on real mountains and while building Cask Data.
Climbing strips everything down to intent. You can’t fake your way through fatigue or altitude — every step costs effort, and you learn quickly what’s worth enduring for. Some climbs are chosen, others are forced, but the ones you choose — those carry a sense of purpose that transforms exhaustion into fulfillment.
The same was true while building Cask. Every startup comes with chaos — long hours, uncertainty, setbacks. But they’re struggles I chose. That choice gave meaning to the grind. It didn’t make the work easier, but it made it mine. There’s a different kind of peace in voluntarily carrying weight you believe in, compared to being crushed by burdens you didn’t choose.
As life evolves, I’ve learned to evaluate commitments through this lens: Is this a struggle I want to own? Because once you say yes, the pain stops feeling like punishment. It becomes investment — time, effort, and resilience spent on something that aligns with your values and vision.
Choosing your struggles doesn’t mean life becomes easy; it means it becomes intentional. It’s the quiet art of trading chaos you can’t control for effort that builds something lasting.
We can’t avoid difficulty. But we can aim it. And that single decision — to struggle for what matters — changes everything.
Freedom isn’t the absence of struggle. It’s the right to pick your battles.