Whenever you work out your muscles, especially when you increase intensity, you create microscopic tears in the muscle that cause you to become sore one or two days after the work out. This is referred to as DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This is the beginning of a rebuilding process that leads to greater stamina and muscle hypertrophy (growth of the muscle). DOMS is caused by microscopic tears in the muscle fibers. Isn’t it interesting that in order to build muscle and get stronger, you have to break it down first?
Building our ‘emotional muscles’ works similarly. Whenever we experience something new or foreign, especially when it involves our emotions, our emotions are getting a work out and microscopic tears are being caused to our ego.
After any intense workout, it is imperative to rest and get proper nutrition to help build the muscles stronger. If we do not rest or eat properly after a workout, we waste the effort we put in to building our bodies.
Our emotional state (ego) works much in the same way. If we do not seek time and wisdom to help build our emotional state of peace after a conflict (workout), we waste the opportunity to grow.
This means creating a paradigm shift in our thinking to looking at conflict as an opportunity to grow and achieve something greater. Just like the gym is an opportunity for our bodies, the world is our emotional gym to enhance our state of peace.
This is imperative for parents to understand with regards to raising emotionally stable children. We cannot protect them from everything (and we shouldn’t), because they need the opportunity to grow their emotional muscles. Our jobs as parents is to be there to help them get through the soreness and make sure their emotions are getting the proper ‘nutrition’, so that they may grow and prosper.
All the best,
David Alvas
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