Pain vs Discomfort

As humans have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years, we’ve developed physiological and psychological responses to threats. Our mind, however, doesn’t always distinguish between what’s life-threatening and what’s merely unpleasant. We experience struggle all the same. With some insight though, we can examine the nature of our struggle. We can pinpoint the type of struggle we're facing, trace its origins, and understand its influence on our lives.

 One type of struggle is pain. Pain should be acknowledged, but never encouraged. It’s an indicator that something needs to change–the more it hurts, the further we should travel in its opposite direction. It’s important to feel pain so that we can avoid further suffering, but foolish to feel more pain than necessary. Humans experience a lot of pain; some examples include bending a joint too far, dwelling on a poor interaction, or obsessing over an uncertain future. Pain, at its core, is a state that we want to move away from.

 Discomfort, on the other hand, should be acknowledged and even encouraged. It’s usually an indicator of growth potential. We should listen to discomfort so that we can follow its tracks. Discomfort can manifest itself in nearly every form of struggle: anxiety, depression, fear, aversion, denial, etc. It’s not that we should encourage these emotions, but rather the actions and thoughts that induce them. Your anxiety about the workday will only get worse if you don’t make a plan for it. Your depression about a recent breakup will only deepen without proper reflection. Your fear of others’ opinions will never be resolved if you don’t speak your mind.

 Sometimes, it’s easy to distinguish between the two states. Physical pain, for example, is an easy signal to hear and correct. Emotional agitation, however, can be more difficult to decipher. We need a way of determining whether to lean in or pull back.