Playing Through the Hurt - Life Coach 180

How do you handle pain when you experience it?

Do you run from pain, embrace it or pray it goes away?

In life you must learn to play hurt. The phrase “playing hurt” can carry the connotation of the unwise sacrifice of long-term health in pursuit of short-term gains. Like football players who play with a chalk full of pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds to push through injuries that unfortunately became a permanent, debilitating factor in their life long after the season is over.¹

However playing hurt in life goes deeper than that.

If you have been struggling with dealing with pain and struggling to give up, this study is tailor-made for you. You will discover techniques to develop resistance and endurance as we reframe pain, find hope, and attain inner peace. Additionally, I will provide free resources, including links for obtaining the full podcast with Deion, and access to a personalized master class.

Before we get started don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss any upcoming free coaching classes. No gimmicks or cost, this is my heart to your heart. I do the work and the research so you can change and be transformed for the good. If you do want to repay me, just share this with someone who needs it, subscribe or hit the like button. Are you ready? Let’s Go!

Deion Sanders lugged around injury after injury excelling not only in the NFL Super Bowl but also the only man to have one a World Series as well. During an Ed Meylett podcast Deion shared that playing hurt goes deeper than sports, however in life everyone plays hurt from one vantage point or another. Just because he was a high profile athlete it doesn’t outshine a mother struggling to raise hare babies without a father, or a family struggling to keep the lights on. Pain is inevitable from a death in the family, a wayward child, broken relationships to an illness, however we have the power to change the channel and reframe life while dealing with the pain.

Let’s listen in to some powerful insight as Ed Mylette interviews Deion.

Today we will explore 7 “Prime Time” game changers to help you endure and thrive through the pain.

Have empathy for yourself and others because everyone plays hurt. “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them (Dalia Lama).” There is nothing worse than contributing to the hurts of others.

Pain paints with a broad brush, for example humans are tribal and we like to group together. One bad experience spoils everything.

Jesus shared in Mathew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” When we remember how we have been hurt and how it made us feel it’s important to protect others from the similar pain. Comforting others especially in our own moments of weakness can bring about the healing we quest for.

Even if you are broken keep moving. “The only way to grow is to face challenges that seem beyond your strength.” “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” “Hard times may have held you down, but they will not last forever.” “Strength shows not only in the ability to persist but in the ability to start over.” “When you’re driving through darkness you can only see as far as the headlights shine, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

There is no plan B only A so keep pressing forward. In Florida you will always find down spouts of rain on the high-way where in a flash of a moment everything becomes dark. However, I have learned if you just keep driving through, the skies will clear up.

The apostle Paul shares with the Philippians, ¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).

Sprinters have learned looking back can cost you a race. Comparison is a killer of dreams.

Don’t make excuses or blame God. When you take ownership of past mistakes and trust God for things that were out of your control you will be able to face life with a renewed purpose. The problems that we face are only puzzle pieces for a greater solution. You are not the painter but the canvas in which the Creator of the universe has chosen to paint His masterpiece. “Do what you are supposed to do even in the difficult time. In the eyes of God there are know excuses. Fight for what is right and just. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, ‘Look, we didn’t know.’ For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve (Proverbs 24:12).”
Trust God has a mighty plan through the darkness. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr., “Strength to Love” (1963) Don’t lose your passion to love by the hate and distain others may inflict on you. Quench their darts with love you shower them back with. Look for the cracks of hope you will quickly find the light breaking through.

“The darker the night, the brighter the stars.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment” (1866) You my friend are a bright, star that even in the middle of your hurt and pain can light the path for others to see their way out. In Jeremiah 29:11 we find, God giving hope to his people in the middle of an exile and hopeless situation. ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. The greatest hope is found in the middle of the greatest pain.

Focus on your now and do everything you can to make the day successful.
Given the fast pace and hectic schedules most of us keep, a base level of anxiety, stress, and unhappiness is the new norm. You may not even realize it, but this tendency to get sucked into the past and the future can leave you perpetually worn out and feeling out of touch with yourself.

The cure for this condition is what so many people have been saying all along: conscious awareness and a commitment to staying in the “now.” Living in the present moment is the solution to a problem you may not have known you had.²

“No amount of regretting can change the past, and no amount of worrying can change the future.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
― Amit Ray, Om Chanting and Meditation

“Let today be the day you stop being haunted by the ghost of yesterday. Holding a grudge & harboring anger/resentment is poison to the soul. Get even with people…but not those who have hurt us, forget them, instead get even with those who have helped us.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34).

Each time you look back you carry a brick of desperation and hopelessness. Give each brick of your past to God and allow him to build your fortress.

Huddle with yourself each evening to create awareness of how you are doing. When you neglect yourself in areas of emotion, spiritual well-being, and the way your body speaks to you, a great disservice has been created. It’s only when you pause and refrain your thinking from focusing on the past or the future that you can take inventory of what is going on inside. If you are upset, are you able to pinpoint what made you upset? If you are disconnected from God, can you recount when you were spiritually unplugged? If you are having health issues, can you back track habits that have led you to this point?

What is self-awareness? Self-awareness refers to a person understanding themselves. Specifically, self-awareness is a person’s ability to recognize their strengths and weakness. Self-awareness also refers to a person’s ability to judge their own behavior and decision-making. A person with a strong sense of self-awareness can take responsibility for their actions and understand if they’ve made a mistake. Conversely, a person with a high degree of self-awareness is not overly critical of themselves. Rather, they can objectively look at themselves and their behavior.³

“We may get knocked down on the outside, but the key to living in victory is to learn how to get up on the inside.”
― Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Ful

“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and pay the penalty (Proverbs 22:3)

The strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire.

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