… running from it is.

Believe it or not, pain isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually an indication that you are learning and growing. All growth requires some level of discomfort; it is called “growing pains.” This pain is inevitable and it signifies the emotional hard work and challenges that we all face day-to-day and for which we valiantly (hopefully) overcome.

But for some reason we try and avoid feeling this pain… we try and avoid it at all costs. But what we really do not understand is that avoiding the pain doesn’t make your life any better, it only intensifies the experience of the pain later on. Why? Because you can only stave off the lesson causing the pain for so long before it comes back with a vengeance. It’s just a matter of time before that lesson will come calling again and when it does, trust me, it means business.

Do yourself a favor. Don’t run from your life by hiding from your pain. Your escapism strategies (drugs, alcohol, food, tv, internet, sleeping, shopping, sex, etc..) only guarantee that you will get hit HARDER later on. Work through the pain when it presents itself the first time – get the lesson and get out so you can move forward with the rest of your life.

The pain isn’t there to torture you unduly so, it is there to enrich you and make you better. Pain is your friend. Go towards it and see what it has for you. When you allow yourself to fully go into the experience of the pain, you very quickly transform it and life gets better very easily. When you avoid that pain, you prolong and perpetuate the feelings of the pain for a very long time. Don’t wallow in your pain, do something about it. Stare it in the face and stare it down. Your life is too short to get shut out by your own pain. Feeling pain is never the problem, running from it always is.