Pain can be a very powerful motivator for change. Before we dive into the dynamics of how pain can lead to change, we must define pain. Pain can be described as physical/mental suffering or discomfort caused by illness of injury.
Such suffering and discomfort are often what people need to address the necessary lifestyle changes they must make. People are not inclined to change when they are comfortable because they have no reason to. Pain gives people an incentive to change.
It is important to understand that different people have different thresholds for pain. Meaning some people can handle more amounts of pain than others. We must keep this in mind because it means different people have different “rock bottoms” before they work past their ambivalence towards change.
“Rock bottom” simply means that the experienced suffering could not get any worse than it already is. Many people need to reach “rock bottom” in order to wake up and seek help to change. Different people hit their unique rock bottoms at different times before seeking help. Rock bottom is looked at as a negative concept to many people. At the Mindful Living Insititute we value our rock bottom experiences. We understand that they are what get us to transform into the people we are meant to be. The process is never pretty and is full of pain. However, it is fully worth it.
For some rock bottom means physical illnesses such as metabolic syndrome. This can be type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, or a combination of all four diseases. Metabolic syndrome is one of many physical diseases people with a high body fat percentage deal with. For others rock bottom is not being able to fit into old clothes or getting overly exhausted from previously easy day to day activity. Some people refer to rock bottom in terms of self-esteem and fulfilment. Meaning they have never felt worse about themselves or their emotions. Both physical and mental factors can contribute to someone feeling as if they hit rock bottom. Should this occur its important people lean on healthy meaningful relationships to lift themselves up.
Our connections and network are what shape our perspective about life. Family and friends both impact our lives in more ways than one. For this reason, we must be picky about who we let into our circle of influence. Check this quick blog post out on 5 areas of life which our friends influence. If we pick the right friends, it will be easier to recover from any “rock bottom” experience which life may throw at us. It is important to know that life is long and includes multiple “rock bottom” experiences. We can never be fully prepared, but we must be proactive.