“No Pain, No Gain”

Context Matters

Maggie was a competitive athlete who firmly believed and lived by the motto “No pain, No gain”.   As far back as she could remember her father had continuously recited this motto to ensure she doesn't give up on her sport and dreams.  She had to have tenacity.  She had to endure the pain, in order to get to the gain.  All she needed was to have perseverance, clear conviction of her goal and ability.   In years to follow, her father was indeed right, Maggie won many tournaments.

As she grew older, she applied the same motto to all her endeavors in life. Recently,  Maggie had found herself at the crossroads regarding her relationship.   She had been here before. The sheer disappointment in herself for not making it work. She recognized the anxiety in the pit of her stomach, linked to procrastination. What more can she do? Surely, if she worked hard enough, gave enough, she could make it work…

As I reflected, I found myself wondering :

• Is pain an acceptable currency to pay for love?

• What does our pain try to tell us?

• Is the intensity of the pain worth the extent of the desired outcome?

• Does the mantra “No Pain, No Gain”, differ in different contexts?

  PAIN : “Please Acknowledge Information Now”

“The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you.”

- Tony Robbins