08-02-2015, 04:18 PM
I was just reading an article just now about AJ Burnett. He's a pitcher in the major leagues in Baseball. He was commenting how he might have thrown his last pitch in a 16 year career; and that the pain in his right elbow had become intolerable, and that he was not prepared to have surgery and rehab from it (that can be a more than 12 month process). So his career might be done.
I was just thinking about this attitude towards pain, and men being taught to be 'tough', and just continue on despite physical pain. No pain, no gain, right?
When in truth, pain (whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual) is just an indicator that something needs attention. It is the smoke ... and there is a fire that is burning. We should stop what we are doing, and find out what is causing tha pain ('the fire'). Attend to the fire, and the smoke goes out ('no more pain').
And yet, that is rarely the attitude. The more common attitude is just to put up with the pain, ignore it, psuh through the barriers, despite physical and mental/emotional costs. Soldiers are routinely put in the most disturbing of situations, till the point where they develop PTSD, and can no longer actually function effectively.
We have depression and anxiety, which are also salient indicators of pain, and yet they are only treated for the smoke, and not the fire.
I used to run middle distance (say, 10km or 7miles) when I was younger. Pushing through the pain/discomfort barrier was something I taught byself to do. But looking back, I don't think it's the healthiest approach to take towards physical fitness. Surely one can work with the body, and tune it and hone it, without engaging in the practice of inflicting pain and suffering on it. Those runner's highs are marked by endorphins - which are a response to pain in the body.
Maybe developing the mental attitude of 'high tolerance to pain' is really not a good thing at all.
Instead of being a 'tough guy', perhaps it takes the greater courage to look in the mirror, and try to find where the fire is, rather than parading one's self-suppressing abilities when it comes to physical/emotional, mental and spiritual Pain.
I was just thinking about this attitude towards pain, and men being taught to be 'tough', and just continue on despite physical pain. No pain, no gain, right?
When in truth, pain (whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual) is just an indicator that something needs attention. It is the smoke ... and there is a fire that is burning. We should stop what we are doing, and find out what is causing tha pain ('the fire'). Attend to the fire, and the smoke goes out ('no more pain').
And yet, that is rarely the attitude. The more common attitude is just to put up with the pain, ignore it, psuh through the barriers, despite physical and mental/emotional costs. Soldiers are routinely put in the most disturbing of situations, till the point where they develop PTSD, and can no longer actually function effectively.
We have depression and anxiety, which are also salient indicators of pain, and yet they are only treated for the smoke, and not the fire.
I used to run middle distance (say, 10km or 7miles) when I was younger. Pushing through the pain/discomfort barrier was something I taught byself to do. But looking back, I don't think it's the healthiest approach to take towards physical fitness. Surely one can work with the body, and tune it and hone it, without engaging in the practice of inflicting pain and suffering on it. Those runner's highs are marked by endorphins - which are a response to pain in the body.
Maybe developing the mental attitude of 'high tolerance to pain' is really not a good thing at all.
Instead of being a 'tough guy', perhaps it takes the greater courage to look in the mirror, and try to find where the fire is, rather than parading one's self-suppressing abilities when it comes to physical/emotional, mental and spiritual Pain.
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