Two years ago I was in hospital (for ten weeks) having had major organ surgery, it was a painful struggle to get out of bed. I was scared of the pain and it made the pain worse. A friend gifted me this quote as it had helped him when he was in hospital.
Pain can be endured and defeated only if it is embraced. Denied or feared, it grows.
— Dean Koontz
Having this quote on my wall helped me. It was positioned so I’d see it everytime I was about to get out of bed.I went from being a fraidy cat of moving, afraid of the inevitable pain, avoiding the pain as much as possible to saying to myself. “Come on then pain, let’s do this, let’s go have a cuddle”. And it helped. Embracing the prospect of pain helped. I don’t really know why.
I looked it up again just now to share with a friend of a friend in a similarly painful (hospital) situation. And I realised that it could equally to apply to mental pain as well as physical pain. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of whatever it is that’s stopping you from escaping, from throwing your crazy idea out there into the market, from talking publicly, whatever.
I’ve got a pop up shop planned for Thurs/Fri this week. I’m scared of the pain of rejection by my potential customers. I’m scared of the pain of making zero money and pissing the money I’ve spent away. I’m scared of having to take a temp job to cover the mortgage in Jan/Feb.
At least, I was scared.
Come on then pain, let’s do this, let’s go have a cuddle.