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Pain is an inevitability of life. Learn to embrace pain and it will take you to exciting new places.

Own your pain to achieve great pleasure.

Pain is a fact of life, there is no point in trying to avoid it.

But we do not need to see pain as a negative thing. Instead, pain can be used to enhance our lives and remind us that we are human.

In truth, there can be no great pleasure without pain. Just remember how good a hot shower feels after a long run in freezing cold rain, or how good it feels to kick off your trainers after pacing a difficult run in blistering heat. Pain reminds us just how good the good things in our lives are, without pain kicking off your shoes or taking a hot shower can seem like a mundane task.

Our pain feeds into our sense of self-worth and achievement. Unless we find something painful, it is difficult to pull any sense of accomplishment when we complete it. This is why different things are a great accomplishment for different people. Where a beginner runner may be delighted by running their first mile without stopping, a seasoned marathon runner would likely find no joy achieving the same.

When we continually push our boundaries it is the stress and the pain that we overcome that makes us feel great.

Our physical pain can help us improve our mental health. When we deal with pain it helps us put things into perspective and build confidence that we can overcome anything we put our minds to. This is why so many people find new levels of strength when they go through difficult times. Many great sportspeople have had troubled pasts and found themselves turning to sports as a way to work through their issues, what a great use of their time.

When we endure persistent pain over a period of time, such as undertaking a long run, we can reach a state of meditation where our daily troubles just drift away and we can only focus on completing the task ahead of us.

Own your pain and step outside your comfort zone.

You can achieve great things when you learn to deal with pain.

We often get caught up inside our comfort zone, not wanting to try new things for fear of experiencing pain. But when you actively seek pain as an opportunity for growth you can easily break barriers and push your limits.

You have the grit and determination it takes to overcome pain and reach new heights. Whether that is smashing a personal run record or just trying a new sport, you will be amazed at how you feel once you embrace pain and accomplish something new.

Own your pain with these strategies.

Owning your pain isn’t easy, but that is kind of the whole point. Use these strategies to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable:

  1. Embrace pain – understand that pain is part of the process
  2. Get out of your comfort zone – find ways to challenge yourself and experience pain in a controlled way
  3. Develop coping mechanisms – just because pain can be positive, doesn’t mean we should accept it for what it is, adapt to pain to help you better deal with it
  4. Know your limits – get to grips with how comfortable you are with pain, push your limits, but know when to stop

Written by Samson Husbands.


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