PAIN CAN BE A GIFT

In our society, we praise the healthy and strong. We look down, laugh at, or feel sorry for the ill and the weak. We idolize strong companies, strong financial lives, strong relationships, strong bodies, strong everything. Anything "weak" scares the living daylights out of us. A crisis in anything is to be swept underneath the carpet and ignored. And yet, the weakness and pain wouldn't be around if there was no need for it.

Imagine a strong, powerful football player on the field. He runs after a ball, he slips, he twists his knee. He's needed in the game so he gets pumped full of painkillers and goes back in the game. He is praised for his strength and in the meantime, his knee is likely getting hurt even more and will take far longer to repair because of the damage made as the player's pain was numbed.

I see the same thing with my clients, individual and corporate. A person feels some sadness, they take Prozac and mask the symptoms. Should be all happy but not quite, just fairly numb and not quite alive. A company may be experiencing in-fighting or doesn't get paid for its services. It fires the people involved and sues for payment but doesn't stop to solve the underlying problem. I have seen incredible results with people stopping to notice the pain and ask "why is it here and what is it saying?". Next time you or your business feel pain, don't just numb it, look for the source. Once you solve the issue, the pain won't return either!