Suffering from pain is influenced by mental resistance to accepting that pain, which can be adjusted to alleviate distress. Pain and suffering are interconnected through the equation: Suffering = Pain x Resistance. Resistance is essentially the desire for situations to differ from reality. By recognizing and modifying this resistance, individualsâbe it athletes, professionals, or parentsâcan foster self-compassion and improve their mental well-being. Learning to accept painful circumstances can lead to a more peaceful state of mind and reduce overall suffering.
Whether you are an athlete, a business person, a performing artist, a healthcare provider, a young person, or a parent, everyone can benefit from learning to decrease their suffering.
The essence of most of our upsetting thinking and feeling is resistance. Put simply, resistance is wanting things to be different than they actually are.
The following mathematical equation from Buddhist meditation teacher Shinzen Young may help you understand this connection: Suffering = Pain x Resistance.
Upset = Difficulty x Resistance. When something unpleasant happens, how upset you are depends not only on what happened but also on how much you want things to be different.
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