Emotional pain is just as important to our survival as physical pain. They are both an alert system that mind and body is being harmed and we must take action to allow the healing process to begin. If we were to get a cut, the pain alerts us to place a bandage over the damaged area to allow it to heal.
On the other hand we choose to walk around with hemorrhaged wounds like zombies. We've even designed pharmaceuticals to numb our precious ‘alarm system’. Just imagine your home is on fire and you turn off your smoke alarm because it’s too loud and stay in bed while being cooked alive. Not a very logical idea is it but then again this shows you how illogical we really are.
Some of the ways we choose to ignore our internal alarm system is by watching an excess of television, smoking, drinking, drugs and violence. All because we don’t want to feel the pain of what is bothering us.
We tend to dwell on the pain and discuss with others and ourselves how bad it feels but none of us take action to get out of the burning house. Our emotional pain is something that we should appreciate because it is our pre-installed alarm system that we all come equipped with. There is no small print saying “Sold Separately”, it is a FREE GIFT!
In my daily gratitude one of the things I am thankful for are my “bad feelings”. I thank them for always being there guiding me and letting me know the right action to take. Remember, it was this very same alert system that forced the American to fight for their independence from the British.
Dedicate at least 5-10mins everyday for yourself to search your mind for hidden pains. This is not going to be easy because as they surface the long buried pain will hurt. But, that’s a good thing because it means its working; it means you have successfully brought that pain to the surface, so you can now deal with it. With others, they have buried it so deep that it may take some time, but with continuous practice, they will surface. As they surface I suggest you write them down and beside each pain write the very first action you are going to take towards healing and most importantly, do it!
Make sure you do not dwell on the pain itself but listen to the message that the pain is trying to share with you.
This is one of the many unconscious processes that people that have had incredible success and impact on our world has had. For example, Bruce Lee, his pain was due to a fight that took long than he had liked it to and a devastating injury to his spine. Instead of dwelling on the feeling of shame and anger, he took the message that change has to be made. This is when he developed his own fighting style after which he never lost a match and became the icon he is today.
I suggest you buy a journal if you haven’t already. In your journal have two categories called pain and first action:
Pain – 30 pounds over-weight
First Action: go for a gym consultation TOMORROW
The reason why I chose first action because to start the healing process you don’t need to map it all out, all you need to do is to take the first step all will fall into place, like a snow ball effect. In ending, give your emotional wounds some attention and be grateful for your emotional warning system, without it we will never know we were in trouble. |
