How much pain are you willing to endure to move forward and make progress?
How much pain are you willing to go through to accomplish something?
And how much pain are you willing to deal with to come out on top?
The brutal truth is, most of us will do whatever it takes to avoid pain. I know I have.
Out of all the things in life that people avoid, pain is high on the list. Why? Because we’d rather life be easy and comforting, not hurtful and painful.
But I’m here to tell you that pain is necessary to help you progress. And it’s the basis of all accomplishments, achievements and successes, no matter how big or small.
Here’s why that is…
1. Pain makes you wiser
Getting into a deep relationship only to find out your partner has cheated on you.
Being in a job for X amount of years only to lose it to redundancy.
Having a successful, profitable business only to lose it due to unfortunate circumstances. Then having to pay off all the debt.
All the the 3 examples above are painful experiences but in return these experiences make you wiser. You have to go through the pain of loss, betrayal, and bad decisions to end up being wiser than you was.
If you play it safe and do your best to avoid pain, not only will it hurt more when you experience it, you’ll have a harder time getting over it. But If you see pain as a tool to make you wiser, you’ll have an easier time dealing and getting over it. It’s all about perspective.
2. Pain can make you a stronger person
Being comfortable and taking the easy route doesn’t make you stronger, pain does. The pain of setbacks, struggles, mishaps and being down and out makes you stronger. And the more you overcome these obstacles, the stronger you become.
Just take a look at those who have experienced physical/sexual abuse in their childhood. Yet, they still manage to come out on top and become winners in the game of life.
Take a look at Oprah Winfrey’s upbringing for example. She was molested by her own family members when she was just 9 years old.
The abuse continued for another 2 – 3 years before she ran away from home. Now look where she is!
She’s a powerful example of someone who’s become stronger, inside and out, as a result of pain.
If pain should do anything, it should make you stronger. It’s a necessity to progress one way or another.
3. Pain can be a good motivator
We’ve all made painful mistakes, painful choices, and painful decisions. But instead of letting it break you and hinder you, let it motivate you.
Instead of backing up and going into your shell, stand up and tell yourself “I’m better than this” and let your pain push you.
What’s happened has happened, and there’s nothing you can do to reverse it. Focus on what you can do, and what you can do is use it as fuel to motivate you.
4. Pain can push you into action
When I was made redundant for the first time for no fault of my own, I didn’t let it stop me.
I used the pain of that experience to push me into action and make drastic changes in my life.
Instead of wallowing in anger and upset, I used that as fuel to push me into action. And nowadays I’m way more action orientated than I ever was before.
Don’t let pain push you backwards, let it push you into action so you can move forward. Forward is the only direction you should be headed in.
See Also: How to Appreciate the Pain of Financial Problems
5. Pain pushes you to make changes
After dealing with a painful experiences, all sorts of thoughts and emotions are swirling through your body. And one of the common thoughts is – “something needs to change”.
Experiencing it once is enough to want to make the change. And even if it doesn’t push you into change the first time, it will eventually. When something needs to change in our lives we’re more driven, motivated, focused and determined than ever before.
This goes back to the time I was made redundant. I was more adamant than ever to make real changes in my life, and I didn’t hesitate to do so.
6. Pain can be inspirational
Back to Oprah, when you read stories like that you can’t help but be inspired and motivated by it. It’s inspirational to the core.
And that’s why stories like Oprah’s never grow old or go out of fashion so to speak. Reading about someone who’s gone through traumatic, hurtful, brutal experiences and then seeing that they’ve overcome them is special.
See Also: A Ballerina’s Story: How I Learned To Love My Body After Years Of Hating It
Sometimes it isn’t me or you who has to go through a painful experience that pushes us to make progress. Sometimes reading stories that are born out of painful experiences are enough to give us that push we need!
Pain can be inspirational. 🙂
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