This post contains some of the best push through the pain quotes.
Push Through The Pain Quotes
1. “But who can remember pain, once it’s over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh. Pain marks you, but too deep to see. Out of sight, out of mind.” ― Margaret Atwood
2. “Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?” ― John Keats
3. “Face your life, its pain, its pleasure, leave no path untaken.” ― Neil Gaiman
4. “I can bear any pain as long as it has meaning.” ― Haruki Murakami
5. “If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.” ― Paulo Coelho
Related: The Difference Between Pain And Suffering (+Top 4 Tips On How To Embrace Pain & Stop Suffering)
6. “If we can take the time to sit together and allow the collective energy of mindfulness to recognize and embrace our pain, we become a drop of water flowing in the river of awakened energy and we feel much better.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
7. “If we know how to handle the little sufferings, we don’t have to suffer on a daily basis. We can practice letting go of what the French call les petites miseres, the little miseries, and save our energy to embrace and soothe the true pains of illness and loss that are unavoidable.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
8. “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” ― Marcus Aurelius
9. “If you can recognize and accept your pain without running away from it, you will discover that although pain is there, joy can also be there at the same time.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
10. “It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.” ― Chuck Palahniuk
11. “Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” ― William Goldman
12. “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” ― C.S. Lewis
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13. “Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.” ― J.K. Rowling
14. “Our wounds are often the openings into the best and most beautiful part of us.” ― David Richo
15. “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ― C.S. Lewis
16. “Pain is a pesky part of being human, I’ve learned it feels like a stab wound to the heart, something I wish we could all do without, in our lives here. Pain is a sudden hurt that can’t be escaped. But then I have also learned that because of pain, I can feel the beauty, tenderness, and freedom of healing. Pain feels like a fast stab wound to the heart. But then healing feels like the wind against your face when you are spreading your wings and flying through the air! We may not have wings growing out of our backs, but healing is the closest thing that will give us that wind against our faces.” ― C. JoyBell C.
17. “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” ― Lance Armstrong Sally Jenkins
18. “Part of the art of suffering well is learning not to magnify our pain by getting carried away in fear, anger, and despair. We build and maintain our energy reserves to handle the big sufferings; the little sufferings we can let go.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
19. “Suffering isn’t some kind of external, objective source of oppression and pain.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
20. “The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.” ― Ernest Hemingway
Related: How To Feel Your Feelings & Sit With Painful Emotions? (Top 9 Difficult Emotions)
21. “There is a Buddhist teaching found in the Sallatha Sutta, known as The Arrow. It says if an arrow hits you, you will feel pain in that part of your body where the arrow hit; and then if a second arrow comes and strikes exactly at the same spot, the pain will not be only double, it will become at least ten times more intense. The unwelcome things that sometimes happen in life—being rejected, losing a valuable object, failing a test, getting injured in an accident—are analogous to the first arrow. They cause some pain. The second arrow, fired by our own selves, is our reaction, our storyline, and our anxiety. All these things magnify the suffering.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
22. “There is real pain there, and we feel it mightily. But we also can spend days worrying that someone doesn’t like us, or that we didn’t say or do the right thing, or that we won’t get the promotion we want. These are small sufferings, relatively speaking, but we magnify them until they seem to take up all our mindspace.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
23. “There is the suffering of the body, including the sensations of pain, illness, hunger, and physical injury. Some of this suffering is simply unavoidable. Then there is the suffering of the mind, including anxiety, jealousy, despair, fear, and anger. We have the seeds, the potential in us for understanding, love, compassion, and insight, as well as the seeds of anger, hate, and greed. While we can’t avoid all the suffering in life, we can suffer much less by not watering the seeds of suffering inside us.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
24. “Time doesn’t heal emotional pain, you need to learn how to let go.” ― Roy T. Bennett
25. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” ― Oprah Winfrey
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26. “We create unnecessary pain when our reaction to an unpleasant event is to compare our self with other selves, reinforcing our illusion of separateness. We may feel a fleeting satisfaction when we tell ourselves, “I am better than he is. I don’t care what he says.” That’s the complex of superiority.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
27. “We don’t even ask happiness, just a little less pain.” ― Charles Bukowski
28. “We run away from ourselves because we don’t want to be with ourselves. Our pain is a kind of energy that is not pleasant. We fear that if we release our diversions and come back to ourselves, we’ll be overwhelmed by the suffering, despair, anger, and loneliness inside. So we continue to run away. But if we don’t have the time and the willingness to take care of ourselves, how can we offer any genuine care to the people we love?” – Thich Nhat Hanh
29. “When a painful emotion comes up, stop whatever you’re doing and take care of it. Pay attention to what is happening. The practice is simple. Lie down, put your hand on your belly, and begin to breathe. Or you may sit on a cushion or on a chair. Stop thinking, and bring your mind down to the level of the navel.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
30. “When we are in crisis or pain, we need to first take care of the immediate need, which is that crisis. Once our mindful energy has soothed our suffering, we can begin to look more deeply into its nature and sources.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
31. “When we cut ourselves off from the pain in our mind, we’re also abandoning our bodies where suffering is being stored. When we feel loneliness and despair, we seek to cover them up and pretend they’re not there. We don’t feel very well inside, so in order to forget, we go and look for something to eat even if we’re not hungry at all. We eat in an attempt to feel better, but we end up becoming addicted to eating, because we are trying to cover up the suffering inside, and the real problem is left unaddressed. Or we may become addicted to computer games, or other kinds of audiovisual entertainment.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
32. “When we fall down, we have physical pain. When we’re sad, we call it emotional pain. But mind and body are not separate, and suffering is not just an emotion. We hold suffering in our body. The practice of deep relaxation is a way to acknowledge and soothe the suffering in the body and the suffering in the mind.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
33. “With mindful breathing, you can recognize the presence of a painful feeling, just like an older sibling greets a younger sibling. You can say, “Hello, my suffering. I know you are there.” In this way, the energy of mindfulness keeps us from being overwhelmed by painful feelings. We can even smile to our suffering and say, “Good morning, my pain, my sorrow, my fear. I see you. I am here. Don’t worry.”” – Thich Nhat Hanh
34. “With mindfulness we are no longer afraid of pain. We can even go further and make good use of suffering to generate the energy of understanding and compassion that heals us and we can help others to heal and be happy as well.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
35. “With mindfulness, the feelings that have been painful and difficult transform into something beautiful: the wondrous, healing balm of understanding and compassion.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
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Pain vs. Suffering
Pain and suffering are often intertwined, but they are not synonymous.
Pain can be described as a physical or mental sensation caused by injury, illness, or emotional distress. It is a natural response designed to alert us to potential harm or indicate an underlying problem.
On the other hand, suffering refers to the emotional and psychological response we have to pain.
While pain may be inevitable in life, the level of suffering we experience can vary greatly depending on our mindset and how we cope with adversity.
For example, imagine someone who has had a sports injury and is experiencing physical pain. While the pain itself is inevitable and necessary for healing, their suffering will be influenced by their attitude towards the situation.
If they view the injury as a setback or become consumed by negative thoughts, their suffering may intensify. However, if they maintain a positive outlook, seek support from loved ones, and focus on the healing process, their suffering can be minimized.
Similarly, in the realm of emotional pain, such as heartbreak or the loss of a loved one, suffering can be prolonged or even deepened by dwelling on negative emotions.
On the other hand, practicing self-care, seeking therapy, or finding solace in supportive relationships can help individuals navigate through the pain and minimize their suffering over time.
It is essential to recognize that while we may not have control over pain itself, we do have some capacity to influence our suffering.
By cultivating resilience, practicing self-compassion, and adopting healthy coping mechanisms, we can potentially transform our perception of pain and reduce the intensity of our suffering.
References
- Portions of this article were adapted from the book No Mud, No Lotus, © 2014 by Thich Nhat Hanh. All rights reserved.
