No pain, no gain

In the competitive world today, reward usually comes at a high price. Ask an Olympic medalist and he or she will surely tell you what it takes to make it to the honour roll. As an embodiment of this concept, the motto ‘no pain, no gain’ is being used today to say that reward can only come after a lot of hard, and even painful, work. The phrase is also often used as an encouragement to those who are working hard towards their goals.

The phrase started to catch attention in 1734 when Benjamin Franklin stated in his almanac, “Industry need not wish, as Poor Richard says, and he that lives upon hope will die fasting. There are no gains, without pains…”

In 1982, Jane Fonda, the actress, made a series of aerobics workout videos which carried this catchphrase as motivational slogan to encourage people to work past the point of muscle aches. The phrase has come into prominence since then.

As a reminder to all our students who would like to excel in school, we would also say the same, ‘no pain, no gain’.