Responsible Pain

OK…since I just spent the entire morning at the dentist office, I’m going to talk about something now near and dear to my heart. Pain. :-)

It has been said and studied many times that there are really only two stimuli for human beings. Those two are pain and pleasure. Or maybe more correctly, pain and not-pain.

That’s it; those are the two reasons why you and I do anything in life. Either we are making a decision that will cause us pain or we are making a decision that will not cause us pain. So, the next time someone asks you…”why’d you do that?” You can simply smile and respond, “Cuz I don’t like pain, so I’m avoiding it.”

No? You don’t think that would work? Well, if you really strip down to the barest of truths in every excuse, justification, or reason that we give, that’s all it really boils down to.

OK…so what can we, as logical, self-improving, thoughtful individuals do with this information?

Well, there is actually a lot that we can do if we apply the right ideas and thoughts. So, then…what ARE the right ideas and thoughts?

Let’s first understand something about choice. Choice is something that everyone takes for granted. Every single day we make about a billion choices. From when we wake up to what we wear to when we go to bed. All these choices impact us in some way. Sometimes in large ways; sometimes in small ways, but we are ALWAYS impacted. Every choice we make enables new choices and erases other choices.

For example…I’m NOT a crack addict. (I know…you’re ALL happy to hear that). So, since I didn’t make that particular choice, there are some choices that are open and available to me, like job, health, clean criminal record, etc. And others that are not, addiction, body degeneration, arrest record, etc.

But the important thing here is that I operate under the SAME stimulus as a crack addict. We bother are trying to live life avoiding as much pain as possible. Granted, my decisions and the addict’s decisions are going to be vastly different, but that is a result of previous choices made. And Life…and everything that goes on in it…is all about choices.

Now, another thing to keep in mind is that my levels of pain are probably quite different in some areas than yours. This is also a result of my previous choices and yours too. This, unfortunately, makes a complete understanding of another’s pain, sometimes, a bit difficult. While I can understand the SITUATION and logically know why you might be feeling pain, there are times when you just can’t grasp every feeling or nuance. And that’s OK.

So, let’s circle ‘round back to the original point. Pain. And let’s review. :-) Our choices carry consequences, each and every one of them, both good and bad. We, as humans, are geared to make choices in response to one of two stimuli, pain or pleasure. Regardless of the magnitude of the consequences of the choices made, they will still bring about either pain or pleasure.

OK, now that we NOW the fundamental reason that we do anything, let’s figure out how to use that to our advantage.

It all really comes down to this. Are the choices you are making in your life being made to avoid pain or to bring about pleasure?

We are response-able beings. That means that we are able to choose the response we give in any given situation. Sometimes it’s too fast for us to consciously choose. That’s why your core and foundation are so important. But the bigger issue right now is the choices you make each and every day, NOT to bring more pleasure into your life, but rather, to avoid pain. The more often you choose to avoid pain, the more likely you will be to put yourself into a situation where you are looking at pain again. Here’s a thought…avoid pain first! Make the choices that will keep you from facing pain before you ever get into a situation where you have to decide to avoid the existing pain.

My teeth are hurting again. And if I had made the right choices prior, I wouldn’t be in the small amount of pain that I am. :-)

See…it really does work. Go ahead…give it a try.