Pushing Through Pain To Achieve Success

No one likes to feel pain unless they're a sadist! Pain is a physical sensation that signals to us that something is wrong. It is a mechanism that exists to protect us. Whenever you feel pain, your "fight" or "flight" instinct kicks in, as the brain lets you know that something is wrong and that you need to stop doing what you are doing. Paradoxically, though, embracing pain as a path to success is necessary for you to grow and achieve your goals in life, career, or business.

The truth about pain

Not all pain is bad—some discomfort is a part of a successful training program for athletes. If you are going to build muscles, you must engage in some amount of strenuous exercise. For muscle strength to increase, the muscle must see some increase in stress over what it is used to experiencing, and this stress is usually perceived as the 'burn' in muscle during the training activity. This mild burn is often referred to as good pain and is the basis of the famous phrase, "no pain, no gain." Any athlete who is serious about winning will have to embrace the pain to ultimately stand on the podium and receive the crown of a champion.

Embrace your pain

Embracing pain is vital for you, too, if you are to attain greatness and live the best life possible. On the path to becoming your best self, bend, don't break! In other words, don't whine, become frustrated, or fall apart. Ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that could happen to me if I embrace the pain?" If the answer isn't death or the end of the world, endure it. Embrace the temporary pain for the joy ahead and grow through it as you go through it. The fact is, only through this pain can we grow and experience higher levels of joy and achievement possible. 

Others did it, so can you

Do you think Thomas Edison experienced pain after failing thousands of times on his way to inventing the light bulb? Do you believe Roger Banister experienced pain when he pushed himself to the breaking point and broke the 4-minute mile barrier? Do you think Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay experienced pain when they summited Everest? I believe they did! These great pioneers are not different from us. Like them, if you embrace your pain and push yourself beyond what you think you can do, you may be able to create a similar impact on the world, live a fulfilled life, and leave a legacy behind. Yes! The lessons learned from all these pioneers in history is not that they are better than us, but that greatness is doable because if something is possible for any other man, it's possible for you, too.