- Arnold Schwarzenegger said he doesn't want there to be a "generation of wimps" who aren't resilient.
- Schwarzenegger feels that "so many young kids these days shy away" from struggle.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is speaking out about modern society, and why he doesn't want there to be a "generation of wimps" who aren't mentally resilient.
The action movie legend and former bodybuilder expressed his concerns while promoting his new self-help book. "Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life," in an interview on SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show" on Wednesday.
"The human mind can only grow through resistance," Schwarzenegger said.
"The more you struggle, the further you're going to go and the stronger you're going to get," he continued.
"That's just the way the world works. Anyone who tries to baby themselves and pamper themselves, and try to protect themselves — 'I don't want to feel bad. I don't want really want to go through any discomfort' — it's over. You're never gonna get there," said the actor.
The 76-year-old star said that he feels people need to be more accepting of discomfort, and work on resilience.
"You have to learn to accept pain, misery, and discomfort — all of the things that you don't like," he said. "Because the more you experience the things you really don't like, the more you can grow, and the tougher you get, and the more you can handle."
"So many young kids today kind of shy away from that," Schwarzenegger added.
The former governor of California went on to reflect on the generation of people who he believes made the United States what it is today.
"These were ballsy women and men that went out there at five in the morning and went out there and struggled and fought and they worked their butts off," he said. "That's what made this country great."
"Let's continue this way," Schwarzenegger went on. "Don't start creating a generation of wimps and weak people. Where we're concerned about, 'How are you feeling today? I don't want to hurt your feelings.'"
"It's nice to be considerate. Yes, I totally agree with that," he added. "But let's not over-baby the kids, let's not over-baby people. Let's go and teach kids to be tough, to go out and do sports, to go and study, to struggle, and to go through these kind of painful moments sometimes."
Elsewhere in his interview with Stern, Schwarzenegger admitted that he's not satisfied with how his body currently looks.
"I kind of smile because every day I do look in a mirror and I say, 'Yep, you suck. Look at this body. Look at the spectral muscles that used to be firm and perky and really powerful. Now they're just hanging there.' I mean, what the hell is going on here?" the seven-time Mr. Olympia winner said.