Do you have pain right now? Somewhere in your body? Is it persistent? Maybe been around for a long time? Years even?
And how intense is it? Just nudges when you move? Or is it 10 out of 10 every day as long as you can remember?
In the first session of our new workshop, The Quest for True North, the topic of pain came up.
And given that this was a workshop focused on helping people create their desired futures, the attendees wondered how pain related to their upcoming work in designing their path in life to True North, their true path in life.
Coach Shelly Naughton and I are holistic coaches. We coach not only the mind, but body and spirit together. So when we hear something like pain come up, it isn’t just about the body to us, like it is to many clinicians and specialists.
Pain can have a huge relationship to you being on your desired path in life. Here are some of the possible effects:
PAIN IS A SIGNAL. Something is happening that causes it. What is that? Finding its root cause and addressing it could be critical in removing barriers in life.
In the western world, pain is almost always about the physical. It must be structural and usually is dealt with that way.
Sometimes this really is the cause and it works.
However, if you expand your view, then the pain could be coming from other axes like the mind and spirit.
An excellent introduction to this concept can be found in Louise Hay’s book Heal Your Body where she maps common experiences to physical ailments.
If you have pain that won’t go away through traditional means like physical therapy or medicines, you might consider a journey down this path.
PAIN CAN/WILL ALTER YOUR BEHAVIOR. When you feel pain, you may avoid activities, people, work. Things you did before, you stop doing because it hurts to do them. You may stop doing things that nourish you or bring you joy. It likely is a constant distraction in life, requiring attention and energy which could be used elsewhere.
Pain can therefore deter someone from accessing their internal gifts and hinder someone from reaching their desired future.
Thus, addressing pain is extremely supportive when working towards a desired future, either resolving it directly or changing your relationship with it.
So if you’re feeling stuck or lost in life AND feeling pain, how might the pain be related to whether you can see your true path forward?
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