For worse, for better — how temporary pain blinds us to permanent gain
I was the Mother Theresa of hardwood floors, here to save them from damnation. Someone had left a glass with ice on the table. As the glass began to sweat in the Accra heat, it left a puddle beneath it which threatened to spill over onto the hardwood floor. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but water can seep into wood floors and eventually rot them if left unattended. So like the saint I am (only on Saturdays), I got up to grab paper towels and avert the watery crisis.
I returned with the paper towels and placed them on the puddle, only for the towel to displace a few drops of water onto the floor. I was slightly irritated, because despite my efforts, I had done the exact opposite of what I had intended to do. Instead of keeping the floor dry, I had spilled the water myself. But something struck me as I stared down at the damp floor before wiping it — as annoying as spilling a few drops of water was, the paper towel would prevent the majority of the water from dripping off the table, averting a much worse situation. In the moment, things had worsened, but in the long run, it was the best outcome.
Sometimes, in an effort to fix a problem or improve a situation, the circumstances initially get worse before they get better. Unfortunately, the temptation to give up when the adverse results come is strong. It’s like starting a new yoga routine because your joints are stiff. The first time you do it, you probably won’t be able to follow all the exercises the way the toned instructor on-screen seems to do with ease. And the worst part comes the following morning, when your joints are screaming in protest at being forced out of their sedentary state the day before.
By choosing to make a change and try yoga, you move muscles you haven’t activated in a while. And this presents a conundrum. You started yoga because your joints hurt, but now your joints AND muscles hurt more because of yoga. Should you continue or should you quit? Ironically, the solution is… well, more pain, The second day of yoga, moving your body will hurt like a bastard at first, but after about five minutes, the pain will subside and you’ll begin to experience relief. A month of consistent practice will find you keeping up with your #fitfam yoga instructor, and more importantly, your joint pain would have a long-term solution.
Now, had you decided to quit after day one, you would have been sore for the second day and a few days after, beyond which the feeling of soreness would subside. But guess what? You’d still be stuck with creaky knees and popping elbows. When making a change or trying new things, we have to remind ourselves that it’s okay if the results get worse temporarily, so far as the underlying process is heading in the right direction.
Growth and stagnation both have a price tag. Growth demands pain and sacrifice, while stagnation demands that you sit with your current problems and dream of what could have been. But only one of these prices gives you a chance of winning. Which will you choose? Prioritising change may be painful in the short run, but if you stick it out, the progress will be worth it. Choose process over pain.