Robin Sharma says that “Crisis comes to serve the person so they may use it as fuel to their advantage.”

He further states that we can either let pain cover us in victimhood or we can use the darkness of pain as a way to grow and be wiser.

I choose growth and getting wiser.

Robin claims that when crisis hits, and it will, it’s there to teach us a big lesson. We are meant to listen, learn, and use the learning as a foundation to elevate our life even greater.

Have you ever had a moment of woah? huh? WTH? confused?

If so, I’ve rode that same bus. I get you. It’s heavy, it’s painful, it feels unbearable.

And the natural tendency is to quickly put on the victimhood hat and wallow on your bathroom floor with a pint of your favorite ice cream. Good solution? Maybe short-term, but clearly not one to result in wisdom or growth.

During this week, I was met with a sudden crisis. After the initial shock and the dark clouds of this faded, I realized I was going to rise above the smallness of the situation and maniacally focus on being greater than the decision of someone else’s scarcity. For what I put out in the world is huge, it’s valuable to others, and boy do I have a lot of good in my life to be grateful for. On the other side of this crap was hope, love, kindness, trust, knowing, worthiness, believe, abundance, gratitude.

Dark clouds are temporary. And on the other side of those dark clouds is usually bright shining, warm sun. Light. Radiant and beautiful.

As Robin Sharma shares, “Gratitude is the antidote to pain.”

So here I sit so grateful. Not just of this lesson but for what is on the other side of that door.

Robin Sharma has come up with some tactics to ease pain. He calls these insights the 5 ‘ings’ of overcoming pain.

• Journaling. Allows us to process through the pain. Write out confusion, hurt, misunderstanding, blessings, talents, what’s good in life.
• Talking. Find a trusted advisor, great friend and talk it out. Open yourself up and take off the social mask. If not, you repress creativity and you block emotions that can lead to disease down the road. The reason there is so much anger in the world and toxicity out there – even in our workplaces – is because people have so much pent up pain they never let out.
• Communing. Nature walks, flowers in your house, etc. Be gentle with yourself. Get one with nature. Breathe. By doing so, you gain perspective and are better able to truly think. This allows us to not see the bars of the prison cell but the stars of the universe. I love that. And really, will this crisis you are in now really matter 2 years from now?
• Moving. Get off the couch and move. Get to the gym. Go for a run. Ride your bike. Do yoga. Science tells us that movement changes our neurobiology, releases dopamine, and makes us feel better.
• Resting. Our world says, move, learn, achieve, produce, and produce fast. But there are seasons to life. And if you are in pain sometimes you have to slow down to speed up. Use the time to read great books, think, produce new insights, new ideas, new energies. This allows us to move from fear to love.

So if you are facing a difficult time in your life, I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, this life we lead has pain in it. It sucks sometimes. Life isn’t fair. But know that you, YOU, have the ability to react how YOU want to react. YOU have the integrity to face the situation head on and be a leader in your thoughts and actions. YOU are enough.