The Power of Pain

Pain is a universal four-letter word that few want or willfully choose to experience. In fact, we try to do everything we can to avoid or minimize pain whenever possible. Pain takes many forms, including physical, mental, financial, social, and more. It also comes in varying degrees, from minor inconvenience to life-threatening. There is no doubt why we spend so much of our time trying to avoid or minimize it.

Yet pain is an integral part of our story as humans and leaders. While we can avoid certain amounts of pain, there is one certainty beyond death and taxes, and that is pain.

Pain can be seen as a warning sign that something bad is happening or about to happen. Stubbing your toe, the proverbial hammering of your finger instead of the nail, or the pain of rejection are just a few examples of actual or perceived pain.

For those that study behavior change, there is a foundational saying "Until the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same, nothing changes." It seems that humans are equally adept at calculating the pain associated with change and with keeping the status quo as they are about predicting the future. We are good at it but far from great.

But pain doesn't always have to be bad or negative.

Think back to a moment in your life when you had to make a major change. It could have been a physical change like losing weight or kicking the habit, or it could be the pain of having to restart your career after a misstep, a costly mistake that forced you to make major changes in your lifestyle, or making the investment of time and resources to better yourself. There was a lot pain associated with that change that was positive and helpful for you.

Now think about your role as a leader. It's a rare situation where a leader is told just to keep things as they are and make no improvement. You are there for a reason, to lead people through this current reality and into a different and hopefully better one.

To help yourself and your team, ask yourself the following questions.

• Is this good or bad pain? The difference is that you want to end bad pain to bring you back to a normal state, vs. good pain helps you get to a better-than-normal state. You fix a broken leg to get it back to normal (bad pain), and you exercise your legs to prepare for a marathon (good pain). Identifying the type of pain you are experiencing will help you set realistic expectations.
• How long will this last? Understanding the length that you are your team will be going through the pain of change will help you with ideal timelines. Our brains will adjust to change much better if we know that we have a specific amount of time vs. the unknown. It's always better to overestimate your time than to underestimate it.
• What are my progress points? As a leader, you want to set clear progress points along the journey. This helps you and the team know that you are making progress, even if it doesn't feel like it.

Keeping these concepts in mind will help you and your team navigate through any challenge or pain that might come your way.

Thank you for reading this week's post. It never pains me to get feedback, so please feel free to send it. Let me know what you like and what you would want to see changed.