Endure

I don’t just look up heavy topics.  Sometimes I look up travel destinations or the overnight scores.  Sometimes I look up stuff and appear all cultured like.  But I do look up some weird stuff.  The only consolation I have is that someone else must have done it before me because what I am looking up is there.
Lately I have been looking up “endure.”  It came about because someone said to me they needed to endure something.  I admit I am a “get out of it if I can” person.  If there is a known solution to something and it is within my means to do so I will use it.
My eyes for example.  I spend ages looking at this screen.  At other times I spend most of the day looking into distances in the yard.  That plays havoc with my metabolism.  Sometimes I get headaches.  Some people love popping pills daily but I avoid it big time if I can.  However sometimes I need a Panadol.  Every time I have taken Panadol the headache has disappeared.  When I have a tooth ache I go to the dentist.  Short term pain long term gain.  I need to be careful though, that the solution does not create a worse problem.  Everything for me needs to be weighed up.
The Free Dictionary has many definitions but it has two I am thinking of.  “To carry on through despite hardships” (today we say they toughed it out).  “To remain firm, to last.”
I admire marathon runners.  I reckon that for the first 50 meters I could look like a world beater.  After that I would be finding something else to do.  I could not endure doing the over forty kilometres.  I have not trained for it.  I have not prepared for it.  And it is never going to happen (though I am a great believer in never saying never.)
For other things I have a measure of endurance.  I could say I would like more but as they say, “be careful what you wish for.”  It seems that to get more endurance I need to be willing to suffer more deprivation.    I don’t wish for that, but if it happens it happens.
Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with saying “the first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue.  I can see that.  Courage is good but courage for the long term is best.  It seems anything I deem to be worthwhile requires a measure of endurance.
Ok I don’t think I need to be told endurance is not one of my strong points.  I know that already.  But I do know I am a work in progress.  Where I need more of it, I reckon I will get it.  Without the pain would be preferable.