You can’t grow without pain.

I repeat: You cannot grow without pain.

I had this insight while doing a particularly difficult ballet exercise. My mind went: “Oh…that’s painful, I don’t wanna do that!”

Then my higher level thinking immediately intervened with the following: “Wait..it’s the most painful workout..so it has the most potential for growth. BINGO. Blog post idea!”

Anyways, I still haven’t found a way around it. The only conscious growth I have achieved in my life has been through pain.

Physical pain. The strains of ballet, stretching, and weightlifting.

Mental and emotional pain. The resistance I face before undergoing any project, writing any article, or that feeling I get right before I pick up the phone to talk to someone I haven’t connected with in a long time. The pain is there. It means that it’s time for growth.

THERE IS NO WAY AROUND THE PAIN.

I wish there was, but there isn’t.

PS: Pain, in this sense, is all positive. I’m not talking about the pain of physical disease or the loss of a loved one. That can be a growth experience, but one that you wouldn’t want to choose.

Buckle down. Work. Repeat. It’s the magic formula. Feel the pain, then feel the growth. You cannot reverse that order, or skip any steps.

For more info on facing the pain, check out Julien Smith’s book: “The Flinch”. It’s 100% free, and 100% brilliant.

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