If someone told me, that I would be making a statement like this today, I'd ask them if they were crazy! However, because we cannot predict when change will come, only that it will, suffice it to say my attitude towards pain/suffering is exactly that: changing.
In a coaching session with one of my fabulous client's, whom I'll call Trinity (not her real name of course), we focused on the fact that she wasn't maintaining the high-feeling vibrations she tapped into since we've been working together. She was concerned that she was slipping back into her old patterns and was just not in a good place. I, on the other hand, thought this was fabulous news! How else will you advance, expand, evolve and grow if you don't have a reason to?
I shared with her that, in truth, pain is simply an indicator, a divine message that something needs to change - whether it be concerning our health, finances, relationships, unhappiness with life, you name it. However, when negative emotions come up, instead of being with them, we immediately want them to stop, so we drown them out, deny them, or numb ourselves to keep from being with the discomfort. While we may feel better temporarily, the message, lesson or gift has not been learnt and we find ourselves having the same negative experiences over and over again. Can you relate?
Upon hearing these words, she was incredibly relieved to learn that she wasn't going backwards. In fact, she was moving forward! She had, in essence, let go of a lot of crap, and what was showing up for her in the form of pain/frustration, was more stuff to let go of so she could go to the next level of her evolution. Her pain was her friend prompting her to change what was no longer serving her. How cool is that?
All the deliciousness I'm experiencing in my life today is directly credited to the pain I suffered as I expanded to reach this point. I was sick and tired of being in miserable relationships, not following my passion as a teacher and healer, not working with clients that I absolutely loved, not feeling vibrant in mind/body and spirit, not fitting into my skinny jeans (Yes! That was a thing for me...lol!), overly extending myself to others - the list is endless. The bottom line: I was in PAIN! By allowing myself to receive what the pain had for me, and by taking the necessary actions for my growth, I was able to turn all of this around - and I want the same for you!
My sincere desire today is that from this moment on you're able to see your pain/ challenges for the divine friend and messenger that they are. I know that this shift in perspective will take you to new, beautiful and magical experiences beyond your wildest dreams.
Action steps to making friends with your pain.
1. Awareness. Now that you know that pain is not your enemy, you can do something with it and about it. YAY!
2. Be with the pain. You read correctly, get friendly with it and ask: "What messages do you have for me"?, "What am I meant to learn from this?" You can't "positively think" your pain away, no matter how hard you try.
3. Slow down! Trying to find solutions to your problems when you're in the depths of them, is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. You're not able to receive the solution, even if it's staring you in the face. Make room to listen.
4. Take Action! If you follow steps 1 thru 3, I guarantee you will receive the guidance that you need. This is where we tend to drop the ball - not taking the necessary action step when it presents itself. My client (Trinity) was in a place of despair and pain when we met. Though she had never worked with a coach before, she followed her guidance and decided to work with me. She's now on the path to creating the life of her dreams!
5. Get support! We all need someone who can support us to believe in ourselves and our dreams. Nothing in your life is going to change unless you know differently, so you can do differently. We were not created to live in misery.
Can't wait to hear your take-away.
To your outrageous happiness and success!