More Pleasure Please!

     "No pain, no gain!"  No wonder it can be so hard to motivate ourselves.  Living from this belief is only prohibiting us from living our dreams.  In Awaken the Giant Within, Anthony Robbins explains that, "Everything you and I do, we do either out of our need to avoid pain or our desire to gain pleasure."  Action needs to be taken, however, it is only taken when we decide that putting off whatever we are procrastinating about is too much pain to bear.
     "What are some of the experiences of pain and pleasure that have shaped your life?" Anthony asks.   The pain and pleasure we associate today is predicted by our past.  Growing up I learned that studying hard and getting good grades was a source of pleasure.  I would study almost every night for hours knowing that I would have much pleasure by being a good student.  There was pain associated with all of that studying but the predicted pleasure outweighed that pain.  Some other questions to ask yourself about how you associate pain and pleasure: "If you're single, do you look upon marriage wistfully as a joyous adventure with your life's mate, or do you dread it as a heavy ball and chain?  As you sit down to dinner tonight, do you consume food matter-of-factually as an opportunity to refuel your body, or do you devour it as your sole source of pleasure?" questions Anthony.
    I've begun to see how I am fueled by my fear of pain and my desire for pleasure.  There is a trade-off of how much pain I will allow into my life for how much pleasure the payoff may be.  I work out intensely every day for the pleasure of looking and feeling good.  I work a 9 to 5, 5 days a week job for the money that I believe brings more pleasure into my life.  When the pain of working out or working too many hours becomes too much then I stop because the payoff isn't worth it.  I wonder how many other ways I'm influenced by pain and pleasure?  I would love to be a motivational speaker but the pain of public speaking is too much.  What if this didn't define my life and I had the choice regardless of the amount of pain?  How can I reprogram the pain associated with public speaking to pleasure?  In regards to food, what if you associated more pleasure by pushing your plate of food away when you know you've had enough to nourish you and associate pain with eating harmful, fattening foods?
      What associations do you have with pain and pleasure?  How are you motivated?  What would you like to change?  List a fear of yours and ask yourself how you can turn this into a pleasure.  Anthony says that "The truth is that we can learn to condition our minds, bodies, and emotions to link pain or pleasure to whatever we choose.  By changing what we link pain and pleasure to, we will instantly change our behaviors."  Begin choosing for you!