Pain is the most ancient cue.
Ever since organisms evolved nerves that could pass messages, they’ve used those nerves to respond to the environment. Over time, brains developed, and some of those messages were interpreted as pain.
Pain is how our bodies and brains interpret certain messages from the environment. Specifically, those messages that require quick, decisive action to correct a problem that could lead to death. Or those messages that we’re going too far and need to pull back.
So we feel pain when we get a cut and bleed. Or a bruise – internal bleeding. Or a broken bone.
We feel pain when we overextend a joint or overstretch a muscle.
Often the pain exists because we’ve damaged something, and until the pain is gone, we need to be careful so that it can heal.
And so, pain is a cue. The most ancient one. It existed before sight, before hearing, before smell or taste.
It impels us to act. Or to stop.
Pain is cue that you can use in your daily planning. In the simple planning flowchart, the first step in planning your day is to review the previous day.
This is when you can feel the pain, and correct course.
It won’t be the only time you feel pain. That will happen first as you go through the day. Something will come up, your plans will go awry. You’ll be cranking on your plan, and suddenly realize the day is done and you only got a tenth of your work done. Halfway through the day you get a call and realize you missed an important meeting.
The pain is a signal in the short term.
In the moment, your response will be protective: rush to the meeting, let your boss know the task won’t be done, or quickly reschedule the remainder of your day.
The pain is also a signal in the long term.
It means you missed something, or forgot something, or didn’t prepare as well as you could have, or your plans need to be more flexible.
It means, in short, that you have something to learn.
In his second video on principles for success, Ray Dalio made just that point: “Pain is a cue that a great learning opportunity is at hand.” Once you understand this, then Dalio’s follow up formula makes perfect sense:
Pain + Reflection = Progress
The way you respond to pain will determine your future.
When it comes to pain that results from incorrect or incomplete planning, most people deal with it in the moment, and then forget. They skip the reflection that is necessary to turn pain into real progress.
But if you review your day when planning, you can respond to the pain in a way that makes you stronger, better prepared for next time. You can try different strategies and find out what works.
And with the upward spiral of progress that comes from daily planning that includes reflection on the pain points, the limits on what you can accomplish are beyond your current imagination.