Do you know who Ray Lewis is? The short answer is that he’s an ex-American football player–arguably one of the best of all time-but more importantly, an intense and charismatic motivational speaker.

While surfing YouTube for some much needed motivation, I happened upon one of his Ted Talks about allowing the body to work through and feel pain.

He spoke about the importance of embracing pain and discomfort. Pain is what transforms us into something great. Perpetually running away from pain and discomfort or masking pain only intensifies it. Tendencies toward denial, withdrawal, and self-isolation are common in reaction to deeply felt emotional or physical pain. What we should do instead is embrace it.

If you live long enough you will discover the great secret that:  life is inherently tough. Difficult things happen.

But it turns out that facing pain — not denial, not running in the opposite direction — is a practical necessity.

Chasing temporary pleasures and comfort which is sure to give you greatest pain of regret or guilt will ultimately lead to more pain.

To watch Ray Lewis’ video about pain, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX8ZeA7ahDg