The Teachings of Pain

“No one is wise by chance.” — Seneca

The Obstacle

Pain is a teacher.

If we were to hit our head on the same doorway
Stub our toe on the same rock
Watch a child keep hurting themselves in the same way We’d wonder what was wrong
We would expect to learning.

We learn from because it hurts.

What about the little things in our lives?

The little pains that come our way.
The things that make us frustrated
That cause anxiety
Anger
Guilt
Resentment.

We don’t seem to learn from those.

We have the same conversations.
Waste time on the same things.

Over and over again
In our personal lives
Professional lives.

They aren’t painful enough.
They don’t draw our full attention.

So we continue to stumble
Bump
Stress
Without correction.

The Gift and Opportunity

Learning does not come automatically.
If it did
We would all be getting better
Every day.

Learning takes intention.
Deliberate focus
Each day
Interaction
Situation
Frustration
Each time suck.

Wisdom take work (Ryan Holiday)

Those little pains are a spotlight.
They show the things that need to be changed.

If we pay attention
Feel the pain
We could change our ways.

We could be more curious
Understand more.
We could see what is wasting our time
What is frustrating us
We could learn to resolve.

Little pains can teach if we don’t assume.
If we are willing to learn.
If we are looking for a teacher.

Know your teacher.
Seek your lessons.

The Practice of Self-Mastery

• • Notice the little pains
  • Treat them like the big pains
  • Find the lesson
  • Learn
  CHEAT CODE: NOTICE THE LITTLE PAIN → LEARN → CORRECT → APPLY