When you are in pain, you may just want it to go away. However, what if rather than wanting the pain to go away, you got curious and tried to learn more about it? Pain contains powerful messages. It is brimming with useful information, if you listen. There are times in your life when you learn from pain. When you put your hand on a hot stove, you listen to the pain. You recognize and accept what it is telling you. Then you respond by moving your hand off the fire. You value this pain and the messages it gives you. You want to feel burning when you put your hand on a flame. What if you could approach all pain with that same attitude? What if you could try to gain information from pain, rather than fight against it? Do you think that is harder to do when the reason for the pain isn’t as clear as a burning flame? You probably already do it when you exercise. When you get back into working out after a long break, or increasing your training schedule, your body is likely to be uncomfortable. But rather than be upset by the pain or try to completely ignore it, you feel into this pain and gain information from it. You wonder “Is this pain trying to tell me I’m injured? Or is it just telling me my body has been working harder than usual?” You listen to your body. You work with the pain, rather than against it. You don’t always know immediately if the pain is a sign of injury or of growth. So you pay attention and listen. You already have times in your life when you are able to get curious about pain! Are there other times in your life when you could fight against the pain less and get curious about it more? Physically, mentally or emotionally—pain is all the same. It is our body’s way of getting our attention. It tells us things we would not otherwise realize. If you would like to read more about what your body is trying to tell you, Louise Hay has written books on the metaphorical meanings behind pain. Heal Your Body A-Z and You Can Heal Your Life are two of her most popular books on the topic.