What are your pain points?

In marketing, the general strategy is to "speak to your ideal client's pain points" - address what it is that is troubling them, and then offer your solution. It can sometimes feel a little...manipulative, although it doesn't have to.

Pain has been a central theme for me this week. I woke up last Monday with terrible neck and back pain, for seemingly no reason - I simply woke up that way, without having had any major event during the night or the day before.

Is this what getting older feels like?!

Normally, this type of pain goes away on its own for me. This time, however, it was different. After seeming to get a little better, it then got worse. A lot worse. I couldn't sleep, couldn't lie down, couldn't move well, and couldn't do my normal work at the computer or on my phone.

Not gonna to lie: I became a major grumpus and rather self-focused as it was hard to concentrate on anything besides my own discomfort.

This is what pain does to us, isn't it? It limits our view and distracts us from being productive.

Sometimes it's physical pain, like mine this week. But often, it's mental or emotional - a belief we hold that hurts us, a heartbreak that hasn't healed, or a uncomfortable truth that we can't seem to work around. Either way, your pain is there to act as a guide: it's showing you what most needs healing.

Your pain is there to act as a guide: it's showing you what most needs healing.

I'm grateful for physical pain, both because it's my body's way of letting me know something's wrong and needs attention, and because it teaches me to have even more gratitude for pain-free moments in life.

Here's the other thing about pain, though: people in pain are in need of a healer.

For me this week, that meant going to urgent care and seeing a doctor when I could no longer manage my pain on my own. I had to do two things successfully in order to get the treatment I needed (yay for muscle relaxers!):

One. I had to admit there was a problem. I had to acknowledge, and share honestly with someone else, the extent of my pain. This was hard for me! I had the subconscious thought that, if it wasn’t life or death, I just need to tough it out. Where does this come from?! We all have funny limiting beliefs and subconscious thoughts - all of us. For me, I had to ask myself: am I okay if nothing changes? No, no I wasn’t, so even though it wasn’t killing me, it was still too much for me to keep dealing with on my own.

Two. I had to ask for help from the right source: someone with the knowledge, resources, and expertise to help me in the way I needed. I may have felt more comfortable crying on the floor and moaning to my husband, but there was nothing he could do to help me. I had to go to the right source, in this case a doctor I had never met before, who I had to wait three hours to see. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but it’s necessary to go to the right source.

We all have pain points. What is bothering you this week? What needs to be cured?

Whether you've taken on an identity of not being enough (smart enough, disciplined enough, motivated enough), or you're getting frustrated with your progress, your body, your career, wherever your pain points are showing up this week - 

You will start feeling better, getting stronger and healthier, when you admit both that there is a problem, and accept help from the right source.

Your life & language coach,

Do you need help with your future life and/or language goals? As a life & language coach, I may be just the right source to aid you or to point you in the right direction. Ready to start healing what's been causing you pain? Message me to see if my coaching is right for you.

P.S. - My mom's dog, Molly, (pictured above), was part of this painful week. She is now healing from a serious dog attack. Nose boops and love her way.

What lessons have I learned from being in pain this week? Join me for a bilingual conversation in this week's episode of #SpanishSaturday, my weekly, bilingual life & language coaching series.

Click below to watch and listen.

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