Tony Dungy Shares Alternative Perspective on Why Pain is Important
I often write about the topic of pain. Specifically, I like to focus on helping coaches and athletes understand the difference between positive and negative training pain. As a result of this focus, the perspective I generally share on pain is narrow.
With that said, today I came across an alternative view of pain in an article written by Tony Dungy on his All Pro Dad blog. Dungy tells a deeply personal story about his adopted son Jordan. It turns out that Jordan has a rare condition in which he doesn’t feel pain.
Dungy makes the point that Jordan taught him that feeling pain is both a tool to protect us and a tool for behavior change. Dungy writes:
Before we had Jordan, I hadn’t thought much about the way God uses pain to protect us from further negative consequences down the road. With Jordan, this has become obvious. Pain prompts us to change behavior that is destructive to ourselves or to others. Pain can be a highly effective instructor.
The next time your body is feeling pain, I recommend you reflect on this. Pain is something you should never ignore. Remember that pain can be a blessing if you learn the lesson the pain is teaching you. However, if you ignore the pain further negative consequences are likely.