Why I like pain

Who is happier: Someone who wins the Lottery or someone that breaks their neck and becomes a quadriplegic?  I heard this question years ago and did some research about it recently.  There is an interesting write up about the Adaptation Principle in the book The Happiness Hypothesis, to quickly sum it up it says that there is not much of a difference between the happiness of the Lottery winner and the quadriplegic because we adapt to our situation.  When I first heard this idea, the answer at the time was that the quadriplegic actually ends up being happier after 10 years.  This is because stress strengthens us.  That is the reason the stress of weight training actually produces a physical response.  When we aren’t certain about something the pain can be unbearable, but have you noticed once you are certain the pain is decreased and you begin to adapt.  It is basic desensitization and exposure therapy which we have all experienced without knowing it, usually because we had to.  First day on a job, approaching someone attractive, new gym, becoming newly single, etc.  They all provide some level of pain, often in the form of fear, but once we were certain about the situation our bodies began to adapt and things got easier.  So why do I like pain?  Because I know that my idea of the pain is always worse than the actual pain felt and when I experience pain it means I am going to get stronger.  So my advice to you is to do things that scare you and listen to things that hurt you, you will survive and your life will be easier because of it.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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