Right now, I’m training and rehearsing for my third public dance performance.
And I’m thinking about pain.
All the leaping, inverting and flinging myself around the pole has left my neck and shoulders stiff and sore. It reminds me of something fascinating about how the body works.
Pain isn’t a just signal of something’s wrong. It’s a safety feature.
When I’m working on increasing flexibility, say front splits, I feel discomfort well before reaching my actual limit. That’s by design. The body creates pain early to prevent me from moving into a range I don’t yet have the strength to recover from.
In other words, pain shows up before any real danger is present.
When I have the strength to move safely in that range, the pain will ease. Flexibility comes from building strength, not from forcing past the warning signal.
There’s a related phenomenon known as “hysterical strength” where humans have performed seemingly impossible feats of strength in emergency situations. Research suggests that under normal conditions, we only have access to about 50% of our actual strength. In life-or-death situations, that can jump up to 90% for a short period.
In World War I, Seyit Çabuk, an Ottoman Army gunner, carried three bombshells weighing 276 kg (608 lb) to an artillery piece while in battle. Later, he was photographed with the bombshell but found it impossible to move. “If war breaks out again, I’ll lift it again,” he said.
In 2006, Lydia Angiyou fought a polar bear after it threatened her 7-year-old son and his friends as they played hockey in Ivujivik, Quebec, physically wrestling the bear until a hunter could return with a rifle.
The limits were never the truth. They were protection.
The same thing is happening with our thoughts.
Painful thoughts don’t mean something is wrong with you. They don’t mean you’re unsafe, broken or failing. They’re protective signals, often firing when there’s no real danger present.
Thoughts tell us how we’re using our mind. When it hurts, it’s like putting your hand on a hot stove. The pain lets us know those thoughts are hurting, and we can take our attention away from them.
Just like with physical strength, more is possible than we think.
I see this again and again, in movement, in creativity, in business and in life. We rarely know what we’re capable of until we gently test the edges with curiosity instead of force.
Which brings me to an invitation.
Before the survey closes this weekend, I’d love to hear what’s on your mind right now.
Take the short survey here: https://forms.gle/q8WENDYLKkDXySsD8
As a thank-you, everyone who completes it receives:
• A free ticket to Odyssey 2026: The Antidote to New Year’s Resolutions (January 15th)
• A free gift inspired directly by what comes through in the responses
Your thoughts help shape what gets created next. Thanks!
Yours in love and play,
Steph 🐲❤️🔥
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