Let your pain PUSH you to Passion

If you have been alive for any significant period of time…you have probably heard people talk about pain and the pursuit of success. Whether you are talking about working towards a fitness goal or building a business...there is so much involved in the journey. I think back to so many businesses that I have seen develop from the concept stage to maturity…and the reality is… many businesses have faltered and failed to reach their full potential.

Why?

Well the truth of the matter is there is something fundamentally important that most people fail to fully realize. It is not your passion that pushes you towards your success it is ultimately based on your pain endurance level and the ability to withstand long periods of uncertainty.

It is excruciating and very demoralizing even, to push towards a significant goal only to discover that there is an opposing force….called life, pushing just as hard against you to prevent you from reaching your goal.

What does your survival push look like?

If your survival push say’s “no matter what is opposing me…I WILL make this happen”, then you will rise to the occasion. On the other hand, if you have not forged the type of character through hardship, trials, and pain, to persevere then that lack of character will show in the heat of battle. It requires you being intentional about your daily habits and rituals. If you are driven for a greater purpose then the conditions may change…but your commitment only gets stronger. That’s because….

it is not an emotional decision, rather it is a burning commitment that overrides your feelings, circumstances, or temporary setbacks.

So how do you ensure that pressure does not cause you to break or burst like pipes but instead come out of the situation stronger like a pearl birthed from an oyster? We recommend that you listen to some relaxing music…maybe some jazz, blues, country (well country may not be so relaxing)…or a genre that helps to distract you from your anxiety (1).

You also may consider creating a pre-performance routine which is a process that you go through right before you perform on the big stage (1).

I am absolutely fascinated watching a high-level basketball player taking free throws…because their habits or rituals are on full display prior to taking the shot. They bounce the ball a certain way at the line…some will throw up an imaginary shot and take a certain amount of deep breaths, and then they will usually shoot the ball. If they stick with their ritual then they have a higher probability of making the shot.

Oh…by the way please remember to do your pre-routine ritual just prior to the event and keep it short. Include mental and physical components and consider finishing with an “anchor word” such as “It’s Showtime!!” The other things to keep in mind include slowing down and sharing the pressure which means to confide with others so you can glean from their wisdom and experience (1).

Your goal is to become the pearl. The pearl begins its life inside an oyster shell, when a piece of grain or sand slips in between one of the two shells called the oyster. To protect itself from irritation, the oyster begins covering the uninvited guest with layers of nacre.

Eventually what began as a grain of sand emerges as a beautiful and precious pearl.

That is how life and success is…your adversity may seem at first like an intruder or a grain of sand. However, keep putting layers of nacre on your intruder and eventually you will create more pearls in your life (2).

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