The New Perspective On Pain

I was in the middle of a run the other day during a particularly difficult, uphill section when a thought crossed my mind. I’m sure it’s a common thought for winter runners but it led to a breakthrough I will share with you later on. In a nutshell it was, “This sucks. Man, I hate running in the cold.” Then I thought to myself, “Well then, why not end this pain by going home right now?” In that moment a new idea sparked in my mind. After my run, I raced to my desk and started a new entry in my journal with the words: “Progress pain (the pain we experience while attempting to achieve a goal or dream) is not pain, it’s a sacrifice we decide to make.”

You and I push through progress pain because we believe it’s a sacrifice worth making. We are making an informed decision to give up comfort and pleasure in the short term so we can accomplish something meaningful in the future. This reality of progress requiring pain means the blood, sweat and tears we put towards our goals should not be resisted. Instead, we should view pain as an expected and necessary sacrifice to accomplishing our goal. Progress pain is to success as strings are to a violin. The latter cannot exist without the former.

If we can fully grasp this truth and integrate it into our thinking we can suffer less. Suffering comes from dwelling on negative thoughts. Armed with the truth that achievement takes sacrifice leaves us with only one question we have to answer – is my goal worth it?

Is getting healthy worth the pain of exercise it to you? Is having a profitable business worth working 60 hours a week for three years to you? Is having a great relationship with your spouse worth leaning into tough conversations?

If we can once and for all decide our goal or dream is worth the sacrifice to achieve it, we can finally stop the suffering we experience from dwelling on the hardships of the journey.

So, how do you make the decision to embrace the progress pain and suffer less? Use the following framework to help yourself reframe your mindset around progress pain:

1. Create a compelling goal with strong emotion attached

First you need a goal that is worth the sacrifice to achieve it. Elements of a great goal are:

• It’s clear – Your goal is 2-4 sentences long and a stranger could read it without context and know exactly when it’s due and whether or not it’s achieved on that date.
• It has a strong emotion attached to it – Great goals have a deep, strong emotions driving them. What person or people group do you care about profoundly? What really pisses you off? What injustice is an outrage to you? What are you sick and tired of being sick and tired about in your life?

2. Anticipate and embrace the necessary sacrifices to accomplish it

What problems, pain, or disappointing situations are you likely to face while striving to accomplish your goal? Get real and write them down. This is not a predetermining exercise. It may not be fun to write down everything you could have to sacrifice to achieve your goal, however, take heart: Just writing them down doesn’t mean they’ll actually happen. This is about putting on paper everything that could suck or go wrong on your journey, so you can make an informed, rational decision now that it will be worth it to achieve your goal.

3. When the struggle comes, remain upbeat! (because you knew this would happen)

When times get tough, projections look grim and there’s little hope to be found; remember your decision to not second guess yourself or dwell on the struggle. Even when you come across new struggles you didn’t anticipate. Keep the optimism alive by reminding yourself of the commitment you made. You ALREADY decided it’s worth it. It’s done. Now go do it!

Be encouraged - You got this. You have everything you need. You have energy and expertise for today’s challenges. Now get out there and create the impossible in your life!

-Joey