Pain Upgrades You Into a Different Being

Heroes born from pain

When his uncle dies because of a criminal he chose not to stop, Spider-Man is born.
When his parents are killed before his eyes, Batman is born.
When his friend Krillin is killed in front of him, Goku awakens as a Super Saiyan.

Why do writers always shatter the hero's spirit first? Because without breaking, you can't become something new.

1. Trees from the high mountains: pain raises value

The best wood for fine violins and guitars is spruce that grew slowly at high altitude. Cold and barren conditions make growth sluggish. But the rings become tight and the grain uniform. Fast-grown trees become cheap plywood; trees that endured slowly become priceless instruments.

2. Diamonds: pressure changes structure

Deep underground, under extreme heat and pressure, carbon's entire crystal structure changes. Charcoal and diamond are the same element. The only difference is how hard it was pressed.
If you're being crushed right now, your structure is changing.

3. Exploding stars: the end is the beginning

Where in the universe are heavy elements like gold made? Remarkably, in the violent deaths of massive stars and the collisions of their remnants. Some explosions are endings and beginnings at the same time.

Did your business collapse, a relationship end, a dream shatter? We don't know yet whether it's a supernova forging gold that didn't exist before.

4. Muscle: no strength without damage

Muscle never grows when it's comfortable. It grows when strong stress tears its fibers and it recovers and adapts. Damage → recovery → adaptation → stronger muscle.

The wounds of life are making you stronger by the same formula.

Three things hardship actually does

A review of 39 empirical studies on positive change after adversity repeatedly linked growth with factors like acceptance, positive reinterpretation, optimism, religion and cognitive processing. Science is saying the same thing. Here's what pain does.

One: it wakes up dormant abilities.
Someone buried under massive debt can't survive on an ordinary salary. So they start studying how to earn far more each month. Wisdom, creativity, courage and patience that were never used suddenly come out. Even after the debt is paid, the habits remain. That's how people get rich. Hardship flipped the switch.

Two: it burns away what doesn't matter.
When things are going well, everything seems important: a nice car, luxury goods, connections, other people's opinions. But when great hardship comes, the question narrows to one: "What really matters in my life?" Hardship burns off the unnecessary and leaves only what's real.

Three: it makes prayer real.
When you're desperate, prayer changes. "God, I don't know anymore. Help me." Hardship doesn't add to your knowledge about God. It makes you actually take hold of God.

Conclusion: stand firm against the storm

The storm hitting you now isn't trying to knock you down. In the middle of it, God is making you a new person.

"The wound is the place where the Light enters you." (attributed to Rumi)
"But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold." (Job 23:10)