Growing up & working out in gyms, I’d always look out for the posters on the walls – & the most common one was always “No Pain, No Gain.”
When you’re young, you think abt that line in a very literal sense. When it came it working out, we were told the following: 1) when lifting weights, you have to tear muscle fibers, so they repair & grow back bigger & stronger & more defined, & 2) when you get your butt on the cardio machine, you gotta burn your calories/sweat/push yourself beyond just a gingerly walk, to burn more than you’ve consumed.
It’s amazing how simple those concepts are when it comes to our physical health. Extend it outside of the gym, it’s “painful” (in quotes, bc a diff type of pain) to avoid certain foods you love, to gain greater health markers like – lower cholesterol, loss of weight, less sugar in the bloodstream, etc.
But when it comes to our mental & emotional health – our tendency is to avoid the pain at all costs:
– Someone in your family you disagree w – just bite your lip & don’t cause a stir
– Upset in a relationship – eventually in time you’ll move past it, don’t ruffle feathers
– Dealing w something from a past event that still upsets you – time will heal all wounds
It’s amazing that we are after peace, happiness, joy, contentment, & overall “feeling good,” yet it’s hard to accept the PAIN that comes w getting to that place.
If we accept the pain as part OF the process on the path towards what we are after, like it’s become commonplace & accepted in the gym, it can be accepted w our emotional work too.
Latest stats, only 19% of the US population does something to work on their MH each week.
Emotional pain is cumulative. Avoidance just builds greater pain down the road. The only way over, is through. Pain is part of the process. We have to get uncomfortable to achieve what we want.