For real growth, do what’s painful
Pain + Reflection = Growth
Pain is the way to know where to go. Pain exists at the border between your comfort zone and where you need to grow. It is conceptually impossible for you to ever have any growth without experience some type of pain whether that be phycological or physiological. Expanding your comfort zone should require actually stepping out of your comfort zone.
The comfort zone is just another word your area of capability. It’s the possibility field in which you are able to function comfortably. It’s the net sum of actions and behaviors you are capable of without much stress or hesitation. Our duty in life should be to continuously expand this possibility field — to keep growing and never stagnate.
Expanding the comfort is accompanied by discomfort, unpleasantries, and pain, which is why most people rarely ever do so. Those who do consistently are at the top of their respective domains and are rewarded for what they are worth.
You may argue that what I’m calling pain isn’t actual pain. If that’s the case, why do so many people struggle to overcome it? The pain that often holds us back the most is psychological, not physiological.
Pain as a part of practicing
When learning or practicing a skill, you should always be asking yourself “How can I put myself through the optimal amount of stress to improve.” That means taking your mind and body putting it through as much effective stress without it becoming detrimental in the short or long run. The key is to know just how much your mind or body can take before it starts to become counterproductive to continue.
Productivity is time multiplied by intensity. It doesn’t matter in the end how many hours you’ve put in; it matters how many of those hours were effectively intense enough for improvement. You’re not going to be able to perform a one hand pushup by continuously just doing regular pushups. You’re not going to become a chess GM by only playing other low rated players. There need to be pathways to improvement. Progression has to made. The ladder of competence must be climbed.
How can this idea be incorporated into your life?
Instead of spending your time:
- 10% Warming up
- 70% Practicing old techniques
- 20% Pushing your limits
It should be:
- 10% Warming up
- 70% Pushing your limits
- 20% Practicing old techniques
The warmup is essential for injury prevention. Practicing old techniques is going over the things you’ve previously learned before trying to fine-tune them. Pushing your limits is progressing further with the skill; learning things you haven’t learned before; trying things you haven’t tried before.
Most people spent their time with the first percentages which either lead to stagnation or slow growth that causes them to fall behind to competition or disillusioned with whatever progress they’re making. Progress for just progress sake isn’t realistic. Progress itself is not inherently a good thing. Competitors and your own expectations must be taken into account.
Falling behind the competition will cause you to become disillusioned and made to quit eventually either by internal or external factors.
Time x Intensity = Productivity
Progressing faster means having to grow through more pain and discomfort than you’re usually used to. Going through this pain successful requires concentration and intensity.
Either push your limits or suffocate in your comfort zone — Arun Purang
In the end, it’s not about how much time you’ve spent working or learning. It’s about the Time x Intensity put in. It’s about how much you’ve had to exert yourself and how much pain you’ve had to endure.
Pain + Reflection = Growth
The areas where we struggle the most are the areas where we can grow the most
Another way to use pain in your journey of self-development and growth is to reflect on it. There’s a hidden reason behind everything. Find the reason for your pain and find ways to tackle it at its root.
For example, having to check your phone every 5 minutes while you work is not caused by the notifications; it’s a symptom with a deeper-rooted cause. The problem stems from the years of Pavlovian dopamine rushes you’ve been receiving 100s of times throughout a day.
Every single pain point in your life has a reason behind them. Most can be solved. Solving them one after the other through continuous cycles of pain and reflection leads to growth.
Main Takeaways
- Pain is required for progress
- Faster progress is needed to stay competitive
- Doing what’s painful requires a lot of effort and intensity of focus ⇒ Time x Intensity = Productivity
- Pain and discomfort is an indication of where you can grow.
