Take your medicine

Origin

For much of history, medicine was not the palatable pill it often is today; ancient remedies, tinctures, and potions were frequently bitter, foul-tasting, or had unpleasant textures, yet they were prescribed as necessary for healing. The act of literally "taking your medicine" therefore became synonymous with enduring something disagreeable for the sake of an eventual positive outcome or as a necessary step towards recovery. This common, often unpleasant, experience of consuming medicinal concoctions eventually evolved into a powerful idiom, urging acceptance of an uncomfortable reality or consequence, much like the unavoidable duty of ingesting a vile but vital cure.