I have sciatica. Its basically a pinched nerve on one of my sides which runs from the lower back down the leg. It is extremely uncomfortable and a wrong move causes a shock to go down the leg. It is a struggle to walk and forget about sitting for more than 5 minutes at a time. In a word it sucks. But I need to remember this about pain:

Others have had to deal with much worst and I’m sorry I’m making a big deal out of this. I can use pain as a reset.

I will cover the second point.

Pain has always woken me up from routine. It is a reminder that I am mortal and that this flesh and blood that I encompass will soon perish. It is not a call to give up, it is a reminder to awaken. Reset expectations for yourself, what you want to work on, what you are doing.

Pain is a lesson in existence. It is a time to reflect. And I honestly feel that some of my best work has come when I am in pain—both psychological and physical. It just gives the mind an outlet. If all you think about is the pain then the pain becomes all consuming. If on the other hand you remain busy the pain is forgotten and it is in the work that you put your mind.

I’ve been attempting that lately. The pain the last two weeks has been the awful. But I have also been extremely creative in terms of stuff I’m working on. I’ve been taking up new things and learning about new types of problems. It has actually been an extremely productive two weeks.

Yes, I’ve had to readjust some of my goals because it seems that I can’t get to them right now. That’s fine. I’m not giving up my weight lifting goals I’m readjusting them to a more reasonable expectation. When I recover if it means starting over with just the bar on my back then I will start with just a bar on my back. I will get to those goals.

Pain is just a messenger to wake you up. Use it to get better—fix the cause of the pain and also develop your mind. If all you focus on is the pain then you stall.