I struggled with pain for years.
In fact, I’ve been battling some form of back pain since I was 18.
That’s 20 years.
If you’ve ever dealt with chronic pain then you know it’s much more than just an uncomfortable feeling somewhere in your body.
It snowballs and spills over into other parts of your being.
When the pain was really bad I was relegated to lying horizontal in a bed, unable to make even the slightest movement in any direction.
Pain killers barely masked the pain.
It was agony.
When you’re in that much pain, forget about training, you pray to manage even routine tasks like using the bathroom and making yourself food.
It’s affects every part of your life.
When you can’t train or exercise you can’t get all of the mental and physical benefits that are the result.
The endorphins, the social connection, the feeling of accomplishment, the confidence that you can defend yourself.
Being unable to move adds to the pain.
Your relationships suffer too.
You’re in a perpetual state of depression, and things that were once enjoyable no longer are.
You start to lose hope, which makes everything worse.
I’ve never had suicidal thoughts, but when you’re at that point and don’t see a way out…when you’ve battled with pain for so long that you can no longer vision a life without it…well, I can understand how someone would consider ending it.
The pain spirals and becomes a seemingly unbreakable loop that builds on itself with no exit.
Thankfully, there is usually always a way out.
We live in a time with all of human knowledge at our finger tips.
We also have access to some of the most brilliant minds ever.
This access is what got me out of pain.
The Power Of Your Mind
When I was going through the depths of it I was able to keep a few things in my mind that helped me endure.
One was from Alex Hormozi, who repeated to himself when going through a rough time in business, “I cannot lose if I do not quit.”
I maintained that sentiment. If I just don’t quit looking for a solution to my pain there will always be a chance I find it.
If I quit, there will never be a solution.
Jiu jitsu has changed my life.
It’s cliche, I know, but if you train then it’s probably changed yours too.
I had the option of quitting jiu jitsu and settling for a life with moderate back pain.
Or I could keep searching and get to the root cause so I could train again.
Adding to my pain and frustration was my continued negative experience with the healthcare system.
I’ll save that for another post, but available options are just ineffective or structured on a system with incentives to keep patients in pain, only offering short term results without resolving the root cause.
Years…literal years…of doctors visits, medical bills, and ineffective treatments only added to my pain and frustration.
Now most people at this point would turn to God.
Pray for an answer.
Which don’t get me wrong, I did…many times.
But what really got me through it was my dedication to stoic philosophy.
The ancient stoics shared wisdom for living and how to handle all of life’s ups and downs.
Much of stoicism has to do with focusing on only what is in your control and not worrying about what is not.
And what you can always control is your mind.
When your body is not cooperating, when nothing seems to work, doctors, insurance companies, medications…you can always control your mindset toward these things.
You can succumb to the pain and depression…or you can keep hope.
Stoicism is full of practical ancient wisdom that holds true to today.
There is a brilliant quote from the Roman stoic Marcus Aurelius that says, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
The “obstacle is the way.”
Essentially, instead of avoiding or trying to go around the problem, the problem becomes your focus.
The problem is your new mission.
So, instead of trying to put a bandaid on my pain and get back to training as fast as possible, which is what I wanted most, or quitting altogether, I dove into my pain.
Why was I dealing with back pain for 20 years? What was the source? Why was it worse some days over others?
Did I really have to have the surgery that, according to stats, only works 50% of the time?
I was young and healthy by most standards. It didn’t add up.
Clearly, what I thought I knew was the right way to train and manage the body was not leading me down the path I wanted.
I continued to search…
I started to question the status quo when it comes to pain, performance, and physical therapy.
With a base of 10+ years studying the human body, exercises science, corrective exercise, and human health and fitness, I discovered so many new incredible methods and ideas. Many of which completely challenged what I had been previously accepted.
Much of what I write about now in these newsletters is the research I uncovered in my search to get out of pain.
I can gratefully say that I have uncovered a system that works for me and got me out of chronic pain for good.
I got to the root cause, and it took me about 23 months of research, trial and error, and commitment to not giving up.
Now, I know that everyone is different, but if it got me out of pain and dysfunction, I know it can help many of you out there too.
PAIN MADE YOU BEAUTIFUL
I met Kelly Starrett in 2012 at a seminar in California. He signed my copy of the Supple Leopard with his signature and the line “pain made you beautiful.”
I never fully understood what that meant at the time, but now it has become clear.
The pain that I endured for so long was the catalyst I needed to challenge my beliefs and to force me to find the solution.
To go deeper than what’s accepted and practiced by so many scholars and professionals and get to the root cause.
The obstacle became they way, and I am now equipped with new knowledge and a new perspective on pain, performance, and physical preparation.
Pain led me to the answers.
So, if you are in pain, know that there is a solution out there.
Maybe I can help. Just email me.
If not, keep going. The human body is a extraordinary organism that is remarkably resilient.
Even if you aren’t in pain, maybe you can take these lessons to another challenge in your life.
The obstacle is the way.
You cannot lose if you do not quit.
