Painful
 

I think I misunderstood Steve. He says that personal growth is painful, but is it painful all the time? I went that road and gave up after two years(a couple of days ago), because I'm just not going to torture myself anymore.

So could you explain what he meant with that? Like if it is meant all the time or just sometimes? Thank you.

I have periods of painful personal growth which usually don't last more than a month. If they do, I tend to stop doing whatever's causing the pain for a while and come back to it later. and i don't think he meant it should be painful all the time.

However, my experience and steve's advice may well not apply to you. Zoom out of your current place to about five years around your present, what's the story? How are you going ot look at this time in the future? Is it going to be important growth and pain period that sets the stage for bigger things in th future or is it just pain that can be stopped?

It depends what Steve means by pain and how people intepret it though. I don't consider it physical pain, but more like struggle, exhausting toil and mental anguish. ;)

And no, it's not always pain. Pain just comes from resistance, and once you are past the resistance there's freedom. Once you are over the hurdle it's straight running. Some hurdles are huge though and take a lot of effort and struggle to force yourself over.

Why? Because we are human and it's in our nature to resist. We can dream about all the green fields we like, but we have to climb the fences to get there, and boy do we hate climbing fences. Personal Development is that group of fences. If you just go for it and not worry about the effort, it ceases being a struggle. It's when you get in the way of yourself does it become difficult and painful.

Is it a struggle? Yes. Does it have to be? No.

Painful? Maybe a little, but the rewards you get should far outweigh the pain you experience, so it is a net positive gain. If anything you're doing feels like torture, then it's not worth it. After the first couple of weeks, there should be no pain, just growth.

Most importantly, you don't have to follow everything Steve does and try it yourself. If something doesn't resonate with you and it feels like torture to do, you're completely free not to do it.

Are you seeking painful methods in the pursuit of personal growth? Is it painful because you never succeed or get better, or even if you get better you find that it doesn't really make your life better, or what?

I wouldn't say that personal development is painful, it is just that we are facing change and change isn't really comfortable for most of us. Personal development is a journey to better ourselves and unleash our inner most potential and achieve results that we had never dreamed before. In this journey, there are obstacles and those obstacle are changes that we need to adapt to. Changing is not painful, it is just uncomfortable.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger