Power in Pain

Have you ever noticed how the motivation of many people comes from a place of pain? The majority of the experiences that shape and mold people's lives were born in very dark places.  For example, think of some of the most successful charitable causes and non-profit organizations. The majority of them were formed   because of the loss of a loved one, acts of violence or injustice, to fund research to find a cure for an illness or disease, or a host of other similar reasons.

I have a dear friend (who is probably reading this right now) who did just that. Initially, the loss of loved ones left him very sad and wondering what his motivation was now that they were gone.  In an attempt to cope, he used art as therapy. Now he is a successful visual artist whose career has taken off. The art not only brings him the joy that he needed, but it also brings joy to art lovers around the country.

What if, instead of using our pain as an excuse to wallow in a downward spiral of despair, we used its power for positive purposes?

What if...

...The pain of an illness prompted you to create a remedy, invention or cure that helps to heal all of the other people in the world that deal with your same affliction and makes you millions of dollars! (I heard about an episode of the show Shark Tank where someone created nose strips to help people with allergies, I bet there are a bunch of you reading this right now that would love to get a hold of those!)

...The pain of the loss of a loved one inspires you to start a foundation that raises money to provide programs for youth and citizens that substantially reduces violence in your community.

....The pain of a messy break up gave you enough juicy stories to write a bestselling book.

The pain of poverty motivates you to increase your financial literacy and turn your entire life and the lives of all of your family and friends around for the better...

The healing that comes along with using the power that you pain brings is priceless, but it also brings other amazing benefits such as healing and helping others, making a difference in our communities, and in many cases, extra income. Now I'm sure we could all use a little more of that!

This week I challenge you to think about the one major thing in your life that brings you pain and come up with a plan to change that pain into positive power!