Jan 27, 2021
In this week’s episode of The Resiliency Factor podcast, I share a little bit about pain and suffering along with ways to help you deal with it.
Experiencing pain is something everybody is going to go through at some point in their lives. Likewise, suffering is ever-present as well in our lives. And with what’s currently happening around us, it doesn’t take you long to see the untold suffering that people, in general, are going through.
I believe from personal experience that the main reason why people suffer is simply that facing adversity causes someone to change. It causes someone to face their anger, fear and uncomfortable moments. It also enables us to be transformed into better versions of ourselves. Suffering also helps you develop emotional mastery and better equips you to handle tomorrow’s problems in a more resilient, confident and appropriate manner.
When it comes to dealing with suffering, it helps a lot to know how to manage our expectations in a healthy manner. Understand that when most people are going through hardship, they will often tend to have unreasonable expectations. Suffering is about being kinder to yourself and not being too hard on yourself when you are facing adversity.
Key Highlights from Our Episode
- My mom’s sudden passing away less than one year ago is one of the most painful and challenging experiences I've ever been through.
- As painful as it was to sit by my mom's bedside, begging and pleading with God to wake her up, I remember having one of the most profound experiences in my life, which gave me a deep and resounding peace, unlike anything I have ever felt before.
- We are all going to experience pain in some way, shape, or form during our time here on planet earth. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
- Suffering happens when we do not allow ourselves the grace and space to be anything other than happy and joyful and peaceful all the time. Suffering happens when we have unrealistic expectations of how we are supposed to act, think, and feel in the face of painful experiences.
- Learning to embrace all of our emotions, however uncomfortable they may be, is the key to peace I can't emphasize enough how making this one small change has empowered me to continue moving forward in spite of grieving and in spite of feeling sad at times. Do yourself a favor and give yourself the gift of grace. Allow yourself to feel everything you need to feel without judgment and you will see that although you may be in pain you don't have to suffer.
Quote
“Suffering happens when we do not allow ourselves the grace and space to be anything other than happy and joyful and peaceful all the time.”
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