the first step to achieving healing is acceptance.
Having pain, be it physical or emotional, is not the end of the world; it starts a new life, a different kind of life. That new life begins with acceptance because you can only move forward and live your life fully despite the pain when you accept things. Many good things are born in pain; you don’t have to look far; for example, every mother bears pain to give birth to their child. When we are in pain, we have to hold on and hope that it is only temporary; we will see the other side.
The pain of loss is a different kind of pain altogether, but it’s one we all go through. Loss is never easy, from the loss of a friend or loved one to the loss of material things; it all has the power to hurt us.
What does it mean to grow through pain?
I love people who do a great deal of exercise, especially for muscle gain. Those people will tell you that there’s a constant pain associated with the process, and it was significantly more painful when they started, but as they progressed, they got used to the soreness, and now they don’t feel it as much anymore. Their muscles are ripped and torn, they sure don’t enjoy the process, but they will tell you that they heal stronger and bigger every time; they grow through the pain.
Their heart will tell you that it had no idea it could work as much as it can now when it started, but it somehow learned to be more efficient through the pain.
The lungs will tell you that their capacity has noticeably improved through the pain.
However, the most important thing is that all these changes did not happen in a day, it was a process, and it took a lot of patience, endurance, and hard work. Choose to grow through the pain, don’t let it set you back but let it propel you towards a better you.
Sometimes the pain cannot be done away with, it can defy medication, and you have to live with it. Looking for a solution to end it may prove futile, but developing yourself with constructive thoughts can help you grow.
What you need is a change of mindset.
Be appreciative of every small step you take towards growth, be grateful and face every day.
How to grow through pain?
Your mental determines your trajectory, you can either choose to wallow in pain, or you can choose to profit from the pain and learn a thing or two. Your thoughts in a season of pain can make all the difference; people have been known to have committed suicide after significant loss, that’s because they harboured and nurtured toxic suicidal thoughts.
Your thoughts can be likened to an animal that, if left untamed and let loose, can run of wildly with no direction and is likely to be prey for any predator that crosses its path. If tamed and domesticated, thoughts can prove to be valuable and productive.
With your thoughts in the suitable projectile, you are armed to the tooth. They can be used as a tool to cultivate yourself and grow despite the pain. Thoughts like “I can make it through this…”, “I am stronger because of this…”, “it is well…” have proved to be very effective in getting you to move on from a situation.
Even in weakness, use your thoughts to convince yourself that you are more robust. A good thought can create hope within you and have you look forward to tomorrow.
When you are lying on a hospital bed, everything around you tells you that you won’t make it out of there. With the pain ripping through your body and tearing your soul apart, don’t think about how frightening it is to die; instead, think about how it’s going to feel going back home to your family once you are healed. When you think this way, you begin to look forward to healing. It’s different from resigning to death and waiting for it to come. Negativity worsens illness; it triggers the release of stress hormones, upsets the balance of hormones in the body, and weakens the immune system; your chances of recovery are lessened by harbouring negative thoughts.
When we are in pain, we tend to be frustrated by what we cannot do and forget what we can still do. Shifting your focus to what you can do through the pain will help you engage in activities that will grow your life.
It is good to acknowledge areas of your life that are challenging to you and find ways around them. Always concentrate on your strengths (and not your weakness) and nurture them with the right thoughts, and you will do wonders.
