This week, I was catching up with an entrepreneur. It’s the end of the year, so I asked how 2025 has been for them. It’s been hard, they said. They feel like they’ve been getting beaten up all year and that nothing has gone their way. They survived the year but aren’t excited about what the future holds.

As they talked, it became apparent that they’ve navigated very painful situations in their business this year. While this entrepreneur was a bit pessimistic, I was more optimistic for them. Why? I think that pain is a necessary component of growth. Very rarely do people who achieve outsize success do so without first experiencing a period of what feels like extreme pain.

Why can pain be a good thing? Because what you learn from painful experiences becomes critical to helping you successfully navigate future situations. You learn lessons and gain wisdom that improve your decision-making. Better decision-making leads to more rewarding situations and more wins.

I think Ray Dalio put it best in his book Principles when he said this:

Pain + Reflection = Progress

I’m excited for this entrepreneur. I hope they take the time to reflect on the pain they’ve experienced so they can set themselves up to make serious progress in their business in 2026.