“The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.” ~Unknown
Life often throws painful experiences at us but even in our pain we have a choice. We can either use it as an opportunity to grow or let it bring us down. We can take our pain and use it as the energy to grow. Pain can propel us towards personal growth.
The first step is to feel the pain, to fully experience our emotions, instead of trying to avoid thinking about it or trying to distract ourselves. Embrace it, let it out, and then begin your transformation.
Secondly, focus on the positive. For example, if you lost your job, you can focus on the fact that now you have the opportunity to look for a better job or to take some time off to re-think the direction you want your life to take. Believe it or not, you can control how you respond to things. Even though you can’t change the situation, you can change how you look at it, you can change your attitude towards it.
Next, try to to uncover the lesson that the painful situation taught you. Normally all painful situations teach us a lesson or two. For example, if you are coming out of a relationship, maybe the lesson is to have more self-respect or to be with someone who values you more. Looking for the lesson will help us take our power back.
Last but not the least, accept and forgive. Holding onto a grudge poisons our mind. Letting go takes time and we need to let time heal us. The ability to turn pain into power comes from within. You will need to take personal responsibility for your life by encouraging and loving yourself. – Tiya Gorain.