You have most likely heard the term before, "no pain, no gain." What does this mean to you? You may relate this to gaining strength or becoming a better or more proficient athlete. After all, unless you feel the burn, the bruises, the fall, the sweat or the defeat, you really are not moving forward right? I'm not so sure that it takes that much to push some people, but others might need a more significant nudge now and then to become better, stronger and even more appreciative in many ways.
Another way to look at this phrase is from a health standpoint. I recently had a weird issue come up that sent me to the Doctor's office searching for answers as to why I had an excruciating pain in my neck shooting up into my head. I couldn't even move, and it was so unbearable that I finally had to give in and get it checked out. My pain tolerance is extreme, from having babies to sports injuries and everything in between, but nothing was worse than what I just recently felt. It was diagnosed as Acute Torticollis, which basically means an abnormal tightening of the neck, causing shooting pain which can come up suddenly for different reasons. This issue can be caused by sleeping in an awkward position, extending or twisting the neck muscles, a past injury, or even an infection of some kind. In my case, the only thing I could come up with was overdoing it while thinking I'm invincible moving large pieces of outdoor furniture around due to a hurricane heading our way!
This experience taught something interesting to me in terms of a lesson. I am usually extremely healthy, active, energetic, and strong. I actually can't remember the last time that I had been sick or in pain. I may even have been a bit relaxed and overconfident about my capabilities in terms of lifting, doing, going non-stop etc...without much thought. My children were concerned because they never see me in pain to the point of tears. When I started feeling better, I realized just how precious it is to feel good, and it moved me forward to a place of being very appreciative and blessed that I was healthy and pain-free.
No pain, no gain can coincide with other areas of your life as well, such as your finances, your career, your love life, your dreams, and your goals. You see, unless there is loss of some kind, a setback, or even a closed-door, some people never move forward. I believe that sometimes we need to be knocked down to get back up and become even stronger than we were before. Sometimes things need to be thrown at us, to move us into a different place, or we would not have made a move ourselves or grown that much stronger.
Regardless of how you look at this term "no pain no gain," I bet you can remember of a time in your life that something painful moved you farther, made you run faster, made you think smarter and changed your life in some way. It's not always by choice, but it is a part of this beautifulife we live in.
My affirmation for you this week is;
"I choose to learn from pain, disappointments, and setbacks and will use them to push me forward to be better and to appreciate life even more."
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