Kay:

Hello, hello Questers, it’s Wednesday, March 24th and this is episode 318. We have a quote for you today that was said at our partner Joseph McClendon III’s Magnificent Life Challenge that he held to help young black leaders and black leaders all over the world claim their power. Today’s quest guide is the one and only NFL football league star Ray Lewis.

Shi:

He tells us, “Your pain can be the key to unlocking your power.”

Shi:

Ray said this in kind of a rant as he passionately shared with the group his story and what he’s been through and some of the struggles and challenges he’s faced along the way. A pretty famous guy and a pretty famous football player and to hear him talk about the disciplines that he’s had to learn the easy way and the hard way where it was really eye-opening. By the time he got to the speech, this part, where he says, “Your pain can be the key to unlocking your power.” It was just that resonant boom bow on top of the package and the present he had just given us, and it was so powerful. I think it’s because it can be one of those turning points that sometimes people aren’t expecting.

Kay:

I would like to even take this quote one step further and say that your pain is the key to unlocking your power. It really is and some of the hardest things that you’ve ever been through really are your greatest learning opportunities because they’re the largest gap that you face in your life. What do we know about the deepest valleys is that they come with the most fulfilling journeys on the other end and often large mountains to climb, but the view is more beautiful from the top of the other side. So, when you face these big gaps, many of us feel the pain and try to run away, but really your job is to run toward it.

Shi:

You know, they say that you either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret, but you cannot get away from pain. So, whether you’re trying to achieve your dream or raise your kids or get the workout done, pain is part of the process. Resenting it and thrashing about it, or arguing with it certainly doesn’t help the process and can often hurt the progress. By being able to understand that it is through that enduring that we really do unlock the power, that we show ourselves what we can do, that we build the resilience that’s necessary. You hear Kay and I often talk about that you have to be strong enough to bear the burden of the blessings that you seek to find and to have. The burden of the blessings is power and what takes strength training is a bunch of pain. So, there’s that kind of pain, but there’s also the kind of pain that’s big, tragic life stuff.

Kay:

Yeah, totally. Losing a parent or going through a terrible injury or an illness or a tragedy, or you know, getting a scary diagnosis or losing a job. There are all kinds of really difficult things that happen just as part of being a human and one of the things that, you know, really causes pain is when the reality of our circumstance doesn’t meet the expectation that we either had in the past or that we currently hold. Like that idea of, “I shouldn’t have gone through that,” or, “it shouldn’t be this way,” and I think you said it best Shi in that when you start fighting reality, that’s when you feel pain come into your life. So, when you dive into the pain, when you turn toward it, when you face the difficult things in your life, you find healing and on the other side doesn’t necessarily mean the pain goes away. It just becomes less over time and in it, oftentimes you find some of the greatest lessons and your own personal power. I mean, I know 2020 was a really painful year but I feel so freaking powerful having walked through that fire and being on the other side.

Shi:

Absolutely, and being able to even turn pain into purpose. If you do or have gone through something tragic or horrific and it hurts your heart, or it’s hurt you physically, or it’s hurt your family, knowing that you can do something to help others not have to feel that pain or to be motivated to find solutions that can protect humanity in the future. In that, there is purpose and greater good and fulfillment that might not have been given in any other way. You can’t change that past but what you can do is be responsible for how you respond to it and move forward in a way that gives you meaning however you can find it.

Kay:

So, like Ray Lewis tells us, “Your pain can be the key to unlocking your power.”

Shi:

Which means you get a Ray Lewis #WorkoutWednesday Quest. Today remember how strong you are and realize all of the incredible powers you have to unlock inside through engaging in your favorite form of exercise. That is the quest. Remember this is about unlocking your power so you’ve got to choose some style of movement or exercise that makes you feel most alive, empowered, and on fire. Maybe go for a walk, jump on your rebounder, do five minutes of dance, but whatever it is, unlock that power inside. Are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!