Pain

— 12 Comments

How do you deal with PAIN?

I’ll tell you how I normally have in the past.

mid-week-motivationI sulked.

I ran.

I cursed God.

I quit.

I quit on everything. I quit chasing my dreams. I quit doing the right thing. I quit on what God had called me to. I quit trying to get better.

I quit thinking that I would ever be anything more than what I was, what I knew, and what I had been told I would be.

When pain came, everything else shut down. I became a hated man within my own body.

But I heard something that began the process of changing my view of pain. It was this quote below. Below I share the video in which I first heard it.

It somehow destroyed the little boy inside of me that said that PAIN is evil. It kicked the dream-stealing, PAIN-resistant demon inside of me right in the face.

Eric Thomas I Used the Pain to Push me to Greatness Quote
Here is the video by Eric Thomas that began the process of accepting, embracing, and even using pain:


I began to realize that pain was a life experience.

Pain is molding you. And you can either allow it to mold you in a negative way or a positive way.

Pain is an obstacle on path to where you want to go. Pain is a fallen tree on the road of success. You can either move the tree; remove the obstacle, or you can give up, turn around and never again return to that road.

The path of lack is clear. The path of mediocrity is wide open. The path of average is full of people and yet uncrowded. (Click to Tweet)

The aimless man sees an obstacle and finds a new path, headed wherever the whims of the world lead him.

Not so the driven man. He sees an obstacle and builds a path through it.

The path of success is full of obstacles. Your goal lies at the end of a narrow, bumpy, booby-trapped road through the jungle of life.

But at the end…on the other side of PAIN…is a reward.

Don’t ever forget that. Don’t ever forget your reward.

Don’t ever doubt that you will get through the PAIN. And you will always be stronger on the other side of it.

How do you deal with PAIN? How can you start using pain to push you to greatness?

 

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  • http://jonstolpe.com/ Jon Stolpe

    Sometimes the initial shock and intensity of Life PAIN can be overwhelming and hard to push through. I think it helps to have people around us who can help us through the PAIN when we don’t have the strength, the focus, the vision, or the energy. Once we get past the initial shock and intensity, it becomes easier to push towards greatness.

  • http://www.hardandsimple.blogspot.com/ Mark Sieverkropp

    Typically I whine and complain. haha. I’m getting better at it, but that has certainly been my default response. I like that, on the other side of pain is a reward! So true. Thanks Matt.

    • http://www.mattmcwilliams.com/ Matt McWilliams

      Join the whine and complain club Mark :)

      • http://www.hardandsimple.blogspot.com/ Mark Sieverkropp

        I dont know Matt…it’ll depend on what the membership dues are…I appreciate the invite though ;)

  • http://CorporateCultureRevolution.com/ Bob Winchester

    It’s tough to think about the reward when you are going through the pain. It’s too difficult to even imagine sometimes. I think this gray area between “pain is unbearable” and “just before pain ends” is where faith gets us through. God help those without faith!

    • http://www.mattmcwilliams.com/ Matt McWilliams

      It is tough, but sometimes it is the only thing that gets us through. I believe that faith is to some extent a belief in the reward.

      The reward for running the last mile in 8 minutes (hey, that is fast for me) is that I am in better shape, feel great the rest of the day, and am closer to my goal for the half marathon. The pain is real though…ugh.

      • http://CorporateCultureRevolution.com/ Bob Winchester

        8 minute miles are NOT bad! I’ve ran two half marathons and my average never got below 9. Nice work!

        Where is your half? Mine were in Indianapolis at the Indy 500 mini.

        • http://www.mattmcwilliams.com/ Matt McWilliams

          That is only the last mile though. The first few are ~9:55. :)

          Mine is in Ft. Wayne in September. A lot of time to get ready. Goal is !:54. Got a LONG way to go for that. Focusing on getting faster right now and slowly adding distance. When I trained for a 10k last year I focused on distance first and ended up running to slowly.

  • http://www.softskillsforhardjobs.com/ Jim Ryan

    I believe we make major growth during times of pain an suffering. Doesn’t mean I like it.

  • http://www.mondayisgood.com/ Tom Dixon

    I think the truth is there isn’t always an IMMEDIATE reward on the other side of pain – or at least not always one we recognize as a reward. It is usually when we have the perspective of time that we see what we gained by experiencing the pain. Great stuff…thanks!

  • Lulu

    Sorry Matt – not with ya on this one. Pain is pain. We are not talking a broken leg that heals, or the birth of a child – but pain that endures day after day. There is no reward for such life- sucking pain this side of glory. When pain interrupts your sleep and then intensifies the moment your day begins – when it has no end, no solution – it does not make you stronger – it drains your joy. This is not a bad day, bad week or even a bad year – this is your new life. It is only pushing you negatively. You fight with anger, bitterness, loss and finances. You fight with God. On a good day you draw nearer to Him – for He is your only hope. On a good day – when you are not too doped up or too depressed. You cry out to Him between your tears and groan with utterings only the Holy Spirit can interpret. The only goal is to some how not be negative – to somehow find a way, and only God knows how, to bring Him glory. I think there are levels of pain – and to some the “no pain, no gain” philosphy doesn’t apply. Wander through the hospital and hospice and see how much victory and reward you see.

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