The School of Greatness - 375 Overcome the Struggle

Episode Date: September 2, 2016

"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” - Joseph Campbell If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at http://lewishowes.com/375

This is 5-Minute Friday, episode number 375, and it's all about overcoming the struggle. Now, Tony Robbins said, the secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. And if you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you. Now, recently, there's been a lot of people talking about the struggle to me. They're struggling with their finances. They're struggling in their relationships, their health, their careers. They've just been struggling. I'm getting a lot of these

comments coming in on my social media, on my email, just a lot of people mentioning that they're struggling and they want to know how to get out of this pain. And there are two types of pain that I've discovered. There's the pain that poisons you. Now, this is the pain that makes you negative, that makes you into a quitter, that makes you beat yourself up over and over and you hold on to it forever so that you suffer. The pain that makes you suffer. This is the pain that I see so many struggling with because they don't know how to overcome this type of pain. And then there's the pain

that propels you. The pain that said, I'm not dead. My life isn't over. It's not the end of the world right now. And if I get dumped or if I lose someone or I lost that job, then it's all all gonna be okay. And what I'm going to gain from this experience that is going to propel me forward is going to help me live a better life. So there's the pain that poisons you and the pain that propels you. Now, here's how you overcome this struggle, this pain.

There's four main things. And the first thing is, one, you've gotta be aware of it. You gotta be aware and it. You got to be aware and understand where this is coming from and why you are holding on to it. You see, every moment in life is a neutral event that occurs and us alone give each moment meaning. Now, some people might have something horrible happen to them where it would be the most frustrating, painful situation of their life, where another person would laugh at the exact same situation. And it may be something funny for them.

It's based on the meaning we give things. So be emotionally intelligent and be aware of who you are and what is really important to you in life. And don't hold on to all these negative, painful moments. Let them go. That's number one. Number two, work out. One of the guests on the podcast, Jackie Warner, said,

when in doubt, work out. Again, we hold on to so much emotion and agony that the tension builds up and creates so much pressure and heartache in our bodies. So make sure you move your body and allow it to flow out of you naturally. Find a daily practice where you're constantly active, moving your body. When we sit behind a screen all day and we don't move, we hold on to this pain. So work out, and whenever in doubt, make sure you move your body.

Number three, breathe, my friends, breathe and meditate. A simple five to 10 minute breathing and meditation practice every single day will give you so much peace and clarity and center you to living a more graceful life that pain and struggle will not have control over you anymore. There's so many people I've connected with over this year alone who started a daily breathing and daily meditation practice. Literally 10 minutes is all you need. 24 hours in a day.

If you're holding on to pain and you're not practicing for 10 minutes of breathing and meditation, then that may be the cause of why it's not leaving your body because you're not breathing. So find time to breathe and meditate on what's happening. And number four, express your gratitude. Joseph Campbell said, find a place inside where there's joy and the joy will burn out the pain. I start and end my days with gratitude for a reason, people.

This is not just for fun, just by accident. It's an intentional reason because I go through struggle. I go through pain. I have emotional heartache in my life, and I don't want to hold on to it. I want to be able to move through it quickly. So I'm constantly remembering and reminding myself how beautiful life is and how even if I'm struggling in a moment or a situation in my life, man, there is so much good and so much great that is happening and so much that I've been able to create and experience and see and

people to connect with that I have such a beautiful life at the same time. I start and end my days with gratitude for a reason. Gratitude is the antidote of anger, and it's hard to be in pain and angry and grateful at the same time. So what are you struggling with right now? What is the pain that is inside you? What is the fear that has taken over your control and made you a prisoner of your life instead of a pioneer who's going out on an adventure to experience the life of your dreams. What is that struggle? Let me know in the comments section back at lewishouse.com slash 375.

I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear what's going on. Tell me your pain, your struggle. Let me know, or send me a tweet at Lewis Howes and let me know what you're struggling with most right now. Also, share with me what you enjoyed about this. Are you practicing these four things, being aware of it, working out, breathing and meditate, and expressing your gratitude? If you're not practicing these four things, embed this in your daily rituals, in your daily routines, because I'm telling you, you've got to do the work if you

want to get out of the pain. Otherwise, you're just going to be holding on to this struggle forever and ever and use these simple practices, these simple tools to move you to the next step. We are in this together. I've got your back and I don't want you to struggle anymore. I want you to the next step. We are in this together. I've got your back, and I don't want you to struggle anymore. I want you to be able to use the struggle to propel you forward towards being a pioneer of an incredible life that you dream of. So use the struggle. Embrace it, but you don't have to hold on to it. You don't have to suffer in the struggle.

You can struggle and learn and grow and make it a building block for the next step. I love you guys very much. Again, let me know what you think. Share this out with your friends, anyone who is experiencing any pain right now in your life. Send them an email with this link, lewishouse.com slash 375. Tweet them, post it on your Facebook page. Tag me on Instagram, at Lewis Howes. Let me know what you think. I love you so very much. We do this every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It's my mission to serve 100 million people in my lifetime to help them reach their ultimate human potential. Thank you for being here, and thank you so much for spreading the message of greatness.

The world needs you. I've got your back. I love you and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Outro Music