If you watch the Oprah Winfrey show you are probably aware of her good friend and trusted advisor Dr. Oz. He appears regularly on Oprah, is the c0-author of the “YOU” books (ie “YOU: The Owner’s Manual”), and is the Vice-Chairman of Surgery at Columbia University in New York. Earlier this week Dr. Oz’s team contacted the Take The Stairs World Tour about being a guest on his radio show for an upcoming series. Of course I was thrilled about the opportunity because of Dr. Oz’s incredible work and concrete personal character. So I’ll be recording with him next week in New York and the show will hopefully air in 2-8 weeks. (please post a comment here if you’d like to be notified)

In the pre-interview with his producer one of the topics that came up was “Why do people naturally avoid self-discipline?” And my answer was that either they haven’t yet been made aware of the benefits of self-discipline or that they do not understand a principle that I call:

The Pain Paradox

Most of us avoid self-discipline because we think that it’s “hard.” And, as I describe in my Take The Stairs speech, we then become victims to “creative avoidance” – which is naturally gravitating towards things that are easy to do. But more often than not the “easy” way doesn’t yield results that are “easier” to live with, in the long run. In fact many times the impacts that result from the completed trajectory of living life the “easy” way are quite devastating.

For example, in the “Finances” part of Living a 5 Star Life “The Escalator” mentality is using credit cards. Credit is seemingly easy for me on the front end because I get to have it now and not have to pay for it until later. I get to indulge in the pleasure of owning it now. But the reality is that I don’t own it; it owns me. At least until I pay that debt off.

Saving up to make a purchase on the other hand would be an example of exercising personal restraint, self-discipline, or a “Stairs approach.” While it seems harder on the front end and not as much fun I would encourage you to ask people with tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt which way they’d do it if they had a chance to do it over again. For most in that situation they’ve shared with me that all of that “fun and pleasure” on the front end is very miniscule in a hindsight comparison to the pain and challenge that resulted.

The Pain Paradox is demonstrated with equal clarity in the “Fitness” part of Living a 5 Star Life. We don’t work out because “it’s hard” or “it’s not fun.” But ask someone who has barely survived an intensive stroke as a result of being in poor physical condition which is more difficult. They might be willing to trade the pain they’re experiencing now for what they thought was the hard way earlier in life.

So you see, The Pain Paradox is that:

The person who forms the habit of enduring the pain on the front end is the one who gets to experience the pleasure and enjoyment in the long run.

It’s all about changing your habits. How do you change your habits? For that you’ll have to tune-in to my conversation with Dr. Oz. J

In your life or your business what pain have you been avoiding on the front end? Because there is a chance that the path to what you desire most lies immediately on the other side of a little short term sacrifice. If you feel comfortable, I’d invite for you to openly post a comment about what your pain is that you know you need to confront head on and perhaps we can go through this journey together.

I share the concepts on this blog because I need to be reminded daily of these principles. I take the stairs not because I have indestructible will but because it’s a simple physical display of a commitment that I have to make each day to do the hard work necessary to get what I really want out of this life and the next. Will you join me?

Join the Take The Stairs World Tour:

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 See you in the stairwell, 

Rory Vaden

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