Who said pain was ever a bad thing? I look at it differently these days. This may sound controversial but I use it as motivation to do better, get stronger, and keep pushing my momentum into the great unknown. It has a bad rep but if you sit back and look at the bigger picture, it can move mountains.

Distractions Stir Past Pains

As I sat thinking how to intro this post today, I started dozing off as I overthought every tidbit that came into my mind. I decided to take a nap, which then landed in some serious distraction (which is what happens EVERY time). Ugh.

Sometimes that distraction though is monumental in my efforts to engage in self-reflection. It leads me into a weird world of even deeper thoughts that envelop my current state of consciousness, therefore unfolding a ridiculously giant black hole of new information and ideas.

I have no idea how this works. But it works.

For some reason my thoughts turned to my grandmother. She passed a while ago and I actually haven’t thought of her too much recently. When she popped into my head, I decided to listen to some old voicemails I had of her.

The tears started shortly after. It’s funny, you think you get over some things and then they just rush back in like nothing ever changed. The tears didn’t come until her last message to me…it was almost as if she wasn’t just saying goodbye in the message. It felt real, like she really knew this was going to be the last message I’d listen to over and over when I was feeling in need of her voice and guidance.

Some call that a guardian angel, I just called her Gram. She was amazing and creative and beautiful and I still love her so much. After I finished her voicemail, I thought about the pain I felt in those tears of her being gone, and then how alive I feel in times when pain is at its most prevalent in my life.

Allow me to explain…

Pain is everywhere.

We as humans just choose to ignore it most of the time. We push it down deep with pain pills or drugs or alcohol or other ways to mask its existence.

I’m telling you to try embracing it.

When I hike on cliff sides and my body aches from the miles of torture I’ve put it through, I feel alive.
When I roll on a sweat-filled mat with a complete stranger smashing my insides in a BJJ gym, I feel alive.
When I embrace the pain and face any fear that I have in my mind or body, I feel alive.

So I ask you, why is it that pain scares us? What is it that makes us fearful of succeeding at something we know we can accomplish? Why is it so damn hard to accept that pain actually pushes us forward at times when we need it most?

Related: How Self Reflection Helps You Grow as a Person

The Pain and Growth Challenge

I don’t understand life, and I’m sure you don’t either. But I do my best to relay these weird and circulating thoughts in my brain so that maybe one of you out there in the world can feel you’re not crazy like I used to think I was.

It’s a strange world we live in, especially when we think of things like hiding what we really feel in fear of the way the world perceives us. Does it actually matter what most people care about? Do you actually care about what they feel? Probably not.

When I lost the loved ones in my life, which there have been too many to count, I thought it was the end of so much. I thought that with my family members, my friends, even my pets. But the thing is, is that it has given me so much opportunity to form new growth. My branches have expanded past what I previously thought was possible because they continue to enhance and breathe stronger into growing new leaves.

I’ve paid attention more, focused on studying less, embraced truths and felt more heartaches than I prefer to acknowledge. But the best part? They’ve created pain. And that pain created newfound strengths I didn’t know were underneath it all, all along.

What gives you reason to reconsider the pain in your life? Do you have something you believe in that is being squashed by your lack of confidence? Can you do better by embracing what you have learned and applying it toward your future endeavors?

I dare you to speak up more often, to challenge new approaches that you don’t agree with and feel the uncomfortable pain that comes along with unacceptance. Be brave, become more bold and start standing for what you believe in.

And if that creates some pain in any sense of the word, use it.

PS. If you’re still reading, here’s some motivation in the form of an old song. Some of you may know and love it, some of you may realize that Bob Marley was the OG of the first statement. It proves that you don’t need to follow the crowd to get ahead, you don’t need to say yes to everything. Trust the process and trust your gut. And if you hate it, try it anyway. Get uncomfy, friend.

Disclaimer: This post is not condoning unnecessary pain. It does not look to endorse pain in a negative manner. It is meant solely for entertainment purposes only, from one person’s perspective, and is meant to show the positive outlook on embracing pain in a positive manner when possible through a shift of one’s mindset to create exponential growth.

Related: Breaking Through The Pressure Of Society’s Expectations

Have you enjoyed reading about Pain and Growth and how to embrace it all?

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