Max Payne – Pain and Pleasure
When I was younger (and to be honest still now!) I loved to play the game Max Payne. The slow-motion diving action, and really dodgy catch phrases of the bad guys is great fun.
Only since we have got a bit older have me and my bro actually notice Max Payne’s face.
Hell, this guy is really in some pain!
Pain is an interesting concept. Is it just the absence of pleasure or something much more?
Humans experience pain both physically and psychologically. The mind and body are so deeply connected, psychological pain can manifest as physical pain too.
The yin and yang of pain and pleasure sit as drivers behind most, if not all, human behaviours. Either avoiding/alleviating pain, or pursuing pleasure.
When we know and acknowledge this, we can learn use it to our advantage…
Taking Control
If we want to stop doing something, all we need to do is learn how to associate negative and painful emotions to it. If we want to start doing something, we need to associate positive emotions to it. It is a pretty simple context.
Humans exhibit a behavioural preference to prioritise the avoidance of pain over the pursuit of pleasure. Think about how you can use this to your advantage…
In the case of Max Payne, he suffered so much pain as a result of the loss of his family, he became hell bound on a mission to alleviate his suffering by seeking revenge on the culprits.
I bet he was pretty angry too!!
Emotions are the currency of the mind and how we choose to spend them will dictate our fortune in life. There are no good or bad emotions, just ones that are expressed in the wrong way at the wrong time. The word wrong in this context means that their expression lead to a decrease in vitality (I will talk more about this in my Thursday post this week).
It’s Natural
The existence all emotions is a natural thing; something we must learn to accept. I know from experience that when we learn to accept our emotions, we can learn to become aware of them.
I personally am quite an angry and fiery person. Those that have known me for a long time will know that those emotions exist in me. They use to be able to see them!
The difference is now I have learned to accept these emotions and channel their energy as fuel to drive me forwards and give me motivation.
Living life with my mind and body, is is like driving a car that can magically fills it’s own gas tank!
Pain, pleasure and emotions… drivers and fuel that we all depend on.
Something to ponder…
Enjoy for now.