Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.

The quote contrasts two kinds of suffering: the finite discomfort of sustained effort versus the lasting regret of surrendering a goal. By listing time spans from “a minute” to “a year,” it frames pain as a passing condition that can be endured and outlived, while quitting is portrayed as a permanent choice that fixes one’s identity and future possibilities. The line functions as a motivational maxim for athletes and anyone facing hardship, emphasizing perseverance and delayed gratification. It also reflects a stoic, performance-oriented ethic: discomfort is information and a cost of progress, whereas abandoning the attempt creates an enduring psychological burden—shame, missed potential, or self-doubt—that can persist long after the physical pain would have faded.