Choosing between what hurts and what hurts the most.

I heard this piece of advise once and boy has it stuck by me well.

Sometimes we feel like life is just that bit too tough, like we have no say in it and we’re just rolling with the punches… especially when we have to live with a ‘chronic’ condition or situation.

But there IS another way to look at it. If you find yourself in an awful situation, let’s take this latest lockdown as an example that we can all relate to.  Even though we feel like we have no choice, we always, always have a choice.  We’re just choosing between what hurts, and what would hurt the most.

What hurts – limiting our contacts and not seeing our loved ones

What would hurt the most – passing covid to our loved ones and seeing them suffer

What hurts – homeschooling (!)

What would hurt the most – not bothering, and seeing our kiddies fall behind and seeing the impact of that unfurl in the coming months.

What hurts – not getting out to the shops/cafes/bars

What would hurt the most – getting out and catching covid

For those of us struggling with chronic pain or a chronic situation…

What hurts – having to put up with daily / regular pain/discomfort

What would hurt the most – only way of stopping it, ending the pain… drug up to our eyeballs and miss out on life completely, or stop life. No thank you!

So, we find a way of accepting the hard and making it work for us best we can.  I know it’s not that simple, but sometimes we need to make things black and white to just keep battling through and accepting our path for now.  Sometimes it just boils down to baby steps and getting through, and that’s ok!

This can be applied to so many situations we may find ourselves in as the image attached shows so beautifully.

So if you’re in a seemingly impossible situation, take a while to sit with it and figure out what the only other alternative is.  Allow yourself to ponder on it and the consequences it would bring.  And then take comfort/pride/assurance, in the knowledge that you ARE choosing…. You HAVE some control and you are DECIDING and you have CHOSEN what hurts over what would hurt the most.

I hope this makes sense and I have explained it well, as genuinely there have been days in my life, in a number of situations, that this thought and belief has carried me through.

Sarah x.