"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit", said Napoleon Hill.

We live in a broken, imperfect world with the imperfections of the people around us. Pain, be it physical, spiritual or emotional, affects both poor and rich, young or old; no one is immune or insulated against pain.

Pain and suffering are unavoidable in life. The degree to which it affects us and its impact vary from person to person.

Pain in any form is a signal that something isn’t right in our life. It’s a wake - up call to make changes to improve the situation, get healing and live life to the fullest.

We respond to pain differently and this is determined by our level of knowledge, experience and maturity. It all depends on who you are and the stuff you are made of.

Humans, by nature, are pleasure-seeking creatures. We always seek out pleasure and move heaven and earth to avoid pain. Pain always makes us feel uncomfortable.

Pain must not be seen as our arch enemy; on the contrary, it’s part of God’s grand design in the molding process of our lives. It’s woven into our lives because of its numerous benefits.

1. Pain is a source of knowledge and guidance

Pain offers us the opportunity to learn, grow and develop. It’s a great source of knowledge and guidance.

We can always learn from our mistakes, mishaps, suffering, failures and use that knowledge to change and improve the situation. Pain can profit us when we use it to our advantage.

The knowledge and wisdom gained from our suffering and painful experiences can serve as a guide enabling us to move through future pain with grace and equanimity. When pain finally subsides or leaves, there is relief and much joy to celebrate.

We can be transformed by our pain if we look at with the lens of positivity. Peter Koestenbaum famously said: “Whenever someone sorrows, I do not say, “forget it,” or “it will pass,” or “it could be worse"—all of which deny the integrity of the painful experience. But I say, to the contrary, “ It is worse than you may allow yourself to think.

Delve into the depth. Stay with the feeling. Think of it as a precious source of knowledge and guidance. Then and only then will you be ready to face it and be transformed in the process.”

2.Learning, maturing and growth

We are not designed to always be happy and comfortable. We will always get into trouble, we can get angry even with the people we love, become ill, lose a loved one, lose a job, meet with disappointment amongst others.

These are all opportunities for us to learn, grow and develop into better human beings. We learn not to repeat what caused our earlier pain. We learn to appreciate and value life and tread more cautiously as we strive to become more successful.

We grow and mature through our hurts and painful experiences in life. Lee Strobel put it succinctly when he wrote, “The universe is a soul making machine, and part of that process is learning, maturing and growing through difficult and challenging and painful experiences. The point of our lives in this world isn’t comfort, but training and preparation for eternity.”

3. Painful experiences shape our personality

Painful experiences help shape our personality. It increases our understanding and makes us more empathetic to those others in suffering.
The people who are more empathetic, more caring and more compassionate are usually the ones who have overcome their own painful experiences and have been strengthened by it.

They are inspired by their own previous afflictions to go to the aid of people who are in the captivity of suffering. They behave as though they were the ones suffering.

They have a better understanding of the complexities of life. Alexandra Stoddard once noted: “Our painful experiences strengthen us in becoming more empathetic, more caring, and deeper human beings. We grow in depth of understanding, with greater appreciation for the miracle of life.”

Hear what a very wise person said: “The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered, there is an opportunity for growth.”

4. We can bounce back from pain

Pain isn’t permanent, it’s temporary. It comes and leaves just as people enter your life and leave.

Pain teaches us to reach down to our inner strength, develop resilience and bounce back after being hurt, whether physically or mentally. Like a teacher leaves after his lesson is over, pain leaves after it has taught us its lessons.

We can harness the power of pains to move forward in life. We can move through our pains and live the victorious life. Our hope for a better tomorrow can motivate us to overcome our painful situations and use that knowledge to make changes to improve our life.

Resilience means you experience, fail, fall, feel but keep moving forward. On resilience, Steve Goodier wrote: “My scars remind me that I did indeed survive my deepest wounds. That in itself is an accomplishment. And they bring to mind something else, too.

They remind me that the damage life has inflicted on me has, in many places, left me stronger and more resilient. What hurt me in the past has actually made me better equipped to face the present.”

5. Pain is a gift

Some of the things we treasure so much often come disguised as pain in our lives. Good things take the place of pain the moment it exits. Pain cannot resist endurance for long. It hurries to leave as you endure it.
Good things don’t come to us on a silver platter. They come after our struggles and our ability to endure the pains which are also the entry points for glorious things to flow in.

Instead of moving away from pain, we should move toward it in order to enrich our lives with the things we think we deserve. Pain should therefore be seen for what it is, a gift from the universe.

6.Pain forces us to change our ways

Pain can sometimes be ruthless to us. It can compel us to make positive changes to improve our lives.

Take the case of a worker who spends all his salary without making provision for savings. He will find himself always broke and in debt.
He will find it difficult to provide for his family. He has no money to meet the exigencies of any situation that demands his attention.

The pains of his plight will compel him to amend his ways. He will have to save and invest in his personal development as a way of improving his life. Proverbs 20:30 says, “Sometimes, it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.”

7. Pain contributes to better health and general well-being

Those in sport know that pain goes with training. They deliberately go through strenuous training with the hope that the pleasure after attaining the goal will be more pleasurable and enjoyable. What they celebrate is the accomplishment of overcoming their pain to be given the crown or medal. For some people pain and pleasure are synonymous.

Exercise can make us feel physically and mentally great. Body organs are put in good condition through exercise.

8. Pain keeps hope alive

Pain is never wasted, as long as we keep hope alive. We hope to obtain relief after our pain goes away.

There are always beautiful things on the other side of pain. The thought of a better tomorrow makes pain easier to bear.

Our belief that pain will ultimately leave us with a miracle inspires us to endure it. We are able to bear our pains because of enormous hope.

9. Pain helps develop courage

Our painful experiences are tools in the development of courage. We do not develop courage in happiness or when life is rosy. We develop courage by surviving difficult times, hardship and challenging adversities.

10. Pain makes life meaningful

Challenging times and difficulties are what make life interesting. Our ability to overcome them is what gives meaning to life.

If there were no hurdles, no obstacles, no challenges, we would remain stagnant in life. We would not grow in knowledge and wisdom.

It will inhibit us from figuring out solutions to life’s problems. Our life become more meaningful with the overcoming of our everyday challenges.

Conclusion

Life has not been easy for anyone. Behind every success story is a story of defeats, failure, heartbreaking experiences, and adversity in various forms. In our quest to live life to the fullest, we must also overcome the pain.

Challenges and adversity make life interesting. But it’s the overcoming of hardship, difficulties, and adversity that makes life more meaningful.
No gem can be polished without friction, nor can man be perfected without adversity and suffering. Pain is like dirt that covers our beauty. When it’s removed, our beauty sparkles like diamonds.

Here is my favourite quote from Rocky Balboa to conclude my thoughts: “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody else is going to hit as hard as life.

But it's not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much can you take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. If you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth.

But you've got to be willing to take the hits and not point fingers, saying you ain’t where you want to be because of him, her, or anybody! Cowards do that, and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!”