Most of us are hard-wired to avoid pain (there’s a word for those who enjoy it, but I’m not going down that road).
I remember going to the doctor as a child and the inevitable injection of the 3-foot needle going into my arm causing me grievous harm.
I remember the agony and the searing pain that lasted for months (at least in my recollection). Then there was the hospital stay where I wound up kicking a nurse who tried to stick me (I’m not proud of it, but I was 5, give me a break).
Since those experiences, I have had what they call “white coat” syndrome. Being in the view of a doctor, a needle or a blood pressure cuff was enough to sky-rocket my vitals. For many years, I avoided the doctor’s office at all costs. Pain avoidance—brought about by fear.
Then we have the stock market. When it goes into free fall or massive gyrations, the first tendency is often to bail. The pain of looking at dropping balances is too much, even though it’s the wrong way to go.
You worry that it’s never coming back, that your wealth is gone forever, that you’ll never recoup the downswings. Taking money out of growth assets to go into cash is pain avoidance—brought about by fear.
Think about life after work. Thoughts of being “cast out” socially, becoming irrelevant or wasting away are created by experiences or beliefs that are usually brought on by fear, pain or failure.
Who you are is not your occupation.
Who you are is how you define yourself—your desire and action to continue to grow and experience in different directions. You use the obstacles you’ve overcome as a basis of belief that you can—and will—continue to meet each challenge to the best of your ability.
There’s pain when your beliefs collide with your comfort zone.
There’s only failure when the fear becomes too great. Keep trying, no matter what.
Cheers,
Michael
