Avoid Pain, Maximize Discomfort
What is the difference between pain and discomfort?
If I turn the heat regulator in a shower to the hottest it goes, that is pain. If I turn it to the lowest temperature it goes, that is discomfort.
Discomfort is a step forward.
Pain is a step back.
You should avoid pain, and maximize discomfort.
Why is that?
Discomfort is where progress is made in life. Discomfort is improving your mental fortitude by pushing yourself further than you can comfortably go. Discomfort is growth.
Pain, on the other hand, is not progress. Pain is a step in the wrong direction. Pain causes damage. Pain is purposely depriving yourself of sleep. Pain is skipping meals to work longer hours. Pain may feel macho, but it is anything but.
Discomfort is a mandatory aspect of self-improvement.
What makes this topic especially complicated is that at times it is tough to differentiate between pain and discomfort. Plus, you add in a healthy bit of the human rationalization engine, and suddenly each circumstance can either be viewed as painful or fostering discomfort. Additionally, at times uncomfortable things may bring on physical pain. Think about the first presentation you ever gave in front of a group. Your heart rate increases. Your palms sweat. It feels like you are experiencing physical pain, but it is merely discomfort.
My rule of thumb for how to differentiate between the two is that discomfort is temporary, pain is lasting. If it is painful for a second and then passes, then that is discomfort. If it is painful for a second, then continues being painful, then that is pain. Discomfort fades, pain stays.
This isn’t to say that you will never encounter pain. Pain is inevitable.
We shouldn’t choose to do painful things, because they are painful.
We should choose to do hard things because they are hard.
In the words of JFK, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Happy Monday.