Mind-Body Connection, How to Persevere When Pain Benches You

As much as I love yaking away about being a success with online business in these articles, I can't resist telling this true story that keeps me motivated when time are rough. I trust the reader will forgive the shameless self-ingratiation, as the story is regarding myself and an interesting incident that occured about 3 years ago.

While working at a construction site (way before my lucrative internet thing), I was informed that one day we would be working on a Saturday. The day was oppressive: hot and humid. My normal responsibilities didn't involve too much standing or walking. This day, however, we would all be doing odd jobs, and the day would be difficult because we were working at least a 13 hour shift. That's ok for most of the guys, but I suffered from a nasty case of plantar fasciitis in one foot and a bone spur in the other. Being on foot for even a short period of time produced severe pain.

Calling in sick was not an option, the guys needed as much help as could be summoned. Plus, no one ever got anywhere giving up! I decided to stick it out and let the chips fall as they will.

I showed up at the site (we were building a giant smoke stack), and the foot pain wasn't far behind. 3 hours in, the pain was excruciating to say the least. I could barely walk. Even being given the chance to sit down was painful. In the seated position, even a little pressure is still applied to the feet which still produced pain. Even seated with my feet elevated, my feet felt so swollen that upon standing, the pain was doubly unbearable.

Leaving the site was not an option. We were shuttled there from a distant site which would have taken 30 minutes to walk if my feet were healthy. Sitting provided a little relief but there was work to be done and any weak link in the chain could jeopardize our duty. Sink or swim, I had to fight it out.

It was around hour 5 when I re-discovered something I had learned back playing high school football. We'd injure ourselves in a minor fashion and coach would say: "Pain don't hurt". This quote kept ringing in my head. "Pain don't hurt", "Pain don't hurt". Around that time I realized that my focus was invariably on my foot pain, not the job. When your mind and your pain are connected, you'll have pain. When your mind is disconnected from the pain, it will disappear. How can a guy at a construction site with brutal foot pain disconnect from his pain? Focus on the work. Then that started ringing in my brain. "Focus on the work", "Focus on the work". It took about 20 minutes in this quasi-meditative state before the pain simply disappeared.

It may seem like a far fetched notion, but the pain was gone. Steadfast in my effort to get the job done, the foot pain became so less relevant. There was no longer time for it. I was able to finish the remaining 6 1/2 hours on my feet with renewed vigor and no pain at all.

This is a true story and I love telling it. It exemplifies what can be accomplished when you eliminate distraction and focus on your mission. It's also an example that we must see ourselves through no matter the odds.

By the way, when we clocked out and headed home, looord have mercy! I was bed-ridden for the next two days. Then, I had plenty of time to think about the pain. Of course, I had the days off and there's nothing like two advil and Different Strokes re-runs to drain the pain away! Thanks for reading!