Pain is Good & Change is Better

We have a saying while on a Costa Rica  Retreat---"Pain is Good".   Being creatures of habit, pain is often  required for us to take action in our lives.   For example, we quit smoking when we can't stand how we feel in the morning or we decide to, at long last ,  "Get Fit" after seeing a "groan" painful picture of ourselves in the flesh.   Even relationships end, after the realization that the pain outweighs the positive shared history we remember versus life every day.  Often, attendees at our personal growth retreats come to Costa Rica seeking a restful and inspired sanctuary from the stress of every day life.  Some find us because they are seeking  to make significant positive change in their life via a learning vacation  and some come because they are in a place where the pain of change is more desirable than the pain of continuing in a holding pattern. 

Our  question or "Food for Thought  for this Monday" ,  as I sit overlooking our river in the mountains of Escazu, Costa Rica is , What in your life is causing you enough pain to make a real and commited positive change in your life?     The first step in problem resolution is a very clear definition of the problem.  In our Stress Management Programs, we practice "Stream of Consciousness Writing" where for 15 minutes we simply write "Everything that is creating pain and or discomfort".   I can recall one participant scribbling "Everything" and realizing after 13 minutes of writing , while overlooking a Costa Rican waterfall, that her "everything" was really much more defined and indeed manageable.

So write down those things you want out of your life and then you can  begin painting that picture of the life and dreams you so richly deserve.

For upcoming Personal Growth Retreats in Costa Rica , visit www.retreatscostarica.com