The Benefits of Pain

Ouch! Accidently banging your arm against the sharp corner of a desk stings. Ouch! Being told your presentation lacks zest hurts. Ouch! Finding out your water leak will cost $500 in wasted water alone (not to mention the pipe repair bills) causes pain.

If you consider the real reason for pain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain), you will discover a two fold purpose. Physical pain informs us that some damage has already occurred or that damage may occur in the future. On a physical level, our bodies give us no choice. Our pain receptors immediately inform us of damage or potential damage. On emotional, financial, and other levels, the pain realization may not occur until well after the damage is done.

Therefore, when life (or our work or our current project) gives us a lesson, we need to listen. Since we normally only feel physical pain instantaneously, other forms of pain require us to look further back in time for the right root cause. So while the arm on the sharp corner can easily be remedied, the unenthusiastic presentation, water leak, or work problem may require greater proactivity on our part and more effort to determine the real problem.