An attempt to push people beyond normal bounds, beyond comfort zones, and beyond the norm.  Which includes those things normal people would find painful.  You will have those who take it literally and seek anything that causes pain and discomfort as a way of gauging effort.  Except, the repeated energy it takes to keep following pain and those events that cause pain can’t be continued for long periods.  Burnout is inevitable.  But if you seek challenges, those things that push and challenge your mind, challenge you physically and you do it in manageable periods, you are developing a lifestyle.  Without challenge, there can be no change in the way we think.  Times change and people change, for good or bad.  If people didn’t challenge us with the bad, how would keep recognizing what is good?

Allow challenges in your life, especially if they contradict your current morals and values.  Then pick a standard to stand by.
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If you don’t stand up for something, you will fall for everything.

No Pain, No Gain, OR No Challenge, No Change, OR No Sacrifice, No Success, all mean the same thing.  We need to go above and beyond.  Above and beyond what we believe are our limits, above and beyond our competition, above and beyond our current circumstances.  If we rest on the level of success we currently have, that becomes our norm.  That becomes our current ceiling of success.  If this is our ceiling, we have a choice of not rising above our ceiling or raising the ceiling and pushing to something higher.  Where we were yesterday does not mean that is where we need to survive for the rest of our lives.

Our success yesterday becomes our stepping stone to something more tomorrow.  But without a sacrifice of time, energy, or maybe sleep we will be as average as others who don’t want to put the time into their own success.  Sacrifice time, instead of watching TV or browsing social media, watch a clip of something informative.  Sacrifice time to read a couple of pages in a book every day that brings curiosity to your imagination.

No Pain, No Gain or No Challenge, No Change is a great way to be motivated.  We see other people growing by facing challenges, looking for challenges, and conquering their challenges. 

Having a mentor is a great learning tool.  I have many, many mentors who help me with every stage of my life.  None of which are the same.  When trying to utilize a mentor, we have 2 choices; One, we can be jealous and be very envious that they did what we wanted and needed in order to become more; or we can change our attitude and look to see what they did, habits, and mindset in order to conquer their change. 

​Looking at a person's habits and mindset is the only productive way of learning to grow past your challenge.  Modeling someone perfectly will only help you so far.  Each time you see a mentor’s habit, you need to make it work for you, not you to the habit.  You have developed behaviors and attitudes for yourself over many years. Likes and dislikes.  So take these likes and learn to grow.  Do you like to read a physical book or can you listen to a book, and you watch a lecture in person or can you watch a webinar?  Find positive and productive habits that help your future self become.

The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.

We need to grow, and we have an ambition to grow and become more, but as of today, we have reached a stage where we are comfortable and possibly an expert with what we know so far.  We know we need more, but right now we are able to breathe with no pressure, we have people depending on us, and we do our job with efficiency, things are predictable.  Why then should we rock the boat?  Why should we put ourselves in a possible insecure situation and run the possibility of being weak, unsure, and unstable?  Some of it has to do with ambition.  To become more you have to put yourself in vulnerable situations to learn more and become more.  More means more, more skills, more knowledge, more experiences, and more time spent with other people.

​Guess what other people are gladly doing to become more?  No challenge, no change.  They are more than happy to challenge themselves to the point of failure, just to become more.  When working out, there are people who set aside the comfort of their couch to become more.  They know that the value of working out pays out in dividends that we will see tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year.  We have to put ourselves in a position that is not comfortable and it is challenging in order to grow.

No pain, no gain, simply says that there has to be pain in order to grow.  How often do we avoid pain?  Things that make us hurt and cringe.  If we thought someone was about to stab us with a knife, would we pull back?  Of course, but using the no pain, no gain, we should stand there and allow the knife to pierce our skin, and then wait for the benefit to be inherited through our sacrifice.

What if we said no challenge, no change?  The education, whether it is formal or informal, our continued growth comes from a challenge.  Challenge our mind, challenge our body.  When we put the effort into our growth.  This means we need to live with intent and find a challenge.  One that will provoke the way we think, provoke thinking, and the way we lead.  Leadership is a big part of a challenge.  Your first student is yourself.  You will need to lead yourself to a place you wouldn’t normally go. Involuntarily you are leading people around you who are watching you and learning from your successes and failures.

 Never allow pain to be your goal, but the challenge!

One of the most popular quotes used when trying to motivate people for improvements. 

"You won’t physically gain strength if you don’t put in the pain of working out."

We need to make our muscles work so hard that there is pain so that we know where we are gaining.  You won’t get the mental growth if you don’t put in what is needed by reading, studying, and engaging with someone or something that makes you think more. 

My only problem with such a motivational quote is: “No Pain, No Gain”.  Is that it uses the word “NO”, twice in a fashion that makes it sound as though that is your only choice.  There must be pain. 

So can we say pain and gain go together?  We can’t even guarantee that, because there can be pain, and we still do not see any gain.  What if it is something you enjoy and love to do?  Is there pain involved?  Probably, no pain, just lots of work that is driven by purpose.  But being real, even if it is something you love, there are still pains involved with getting up early, staying late, and working longer and harder than your competition. 

​But even with the possibility of pain are we guaranteed gain?  NO!  My idea of rephrasing the old quote into one that is productive and promising is using the phrase:  “Pain with the promise of Gain”.  I am not guaranteed or entitled to gains if I put in the work and it is painful.  What I am guaranteed is the promise of satisfaction that I am not a quitter.  I persevere where others give up, I am a fighter, and progress is my purpose.

The phrase "no pain, no gain" has long been a motivational staple, especially in fitness and self-improvement circles.  Its strength lies in encouraging people to push past comfort zones, embrace effort, and recognize that real growth often comes with some struggle.  However, it can also be misleading or even harmful if taken too literally.  Overemphasis on pain may lead to burnout, injury, or the belief that suffering is the only path to success.  The phrase also conquers up the idea that without pains, there are no promises of improvement.  A more balanced perspective is to value persistence and challenge, while also honoring rest, sustainability, and mindful progress.
 
Day 1:  No Pain, No Gain, Using NO to motivate
 
Day 2: No Pain, No Gain, Instead No Challenge, No Change
 
Day 3: No Pain, No Gain, Law of The Lid
             
Day 4: No Pain, No Gain, Look for a Challenge
             
Day 5: No Pain, No Gain, There MUST be Sacrifice

​Day 6: No Pain, No Gain, Seeking a Challenge