Go beyond the pain barrier
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE was born in 1540 and passed away in 1596. His life was just less than 60 years but he lived boldly and courageously. He knew that small thinking does not lead anywhere. He knew the power of confident prayer and bold action.
Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the Earth. He was a bold and daring man of action and vision, who refused to park on easy streets.
He did not allow the pain barrier to stop him. He was willing to take to the rough seas and continue to explore beyond his homeland.
Drake pushed boundaries and was a “no-limits” thinker. He became the first Arctic explorer. He went where his fellow men had never dared to go.
He was willing to do what other people were too comfortable to attempt. The prospect of pain did not stop him. His vision was beyond the pain barrier.
Drake was knighted on April 4, 1581, aboard his flagship “Golden Hind”. His curiosity, imagination and desire to serve could not be quenched.
Later in life, he served as a Member of Parliament. Words of people of action are worth noting.
The prayer of a person who dares to outlive pain is always pure motivation. Drake is most known for his prayer of 1577. Prayer has power. It outlives time and experiences. It speaks beyond its time and limits.
Drake’s prayer is still a fresh inspiration today. It is not a prayer for comfort but a disturbance, positive disturbance. Let us pray together, and often.
Here is the prayer, “Disturb Us Lord”: “Disturb us, Lord, When we are too pleased with ourselves When our dreams have come true Because we dreamed too little When we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
“Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life, having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
“Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas, where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.
“We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push back the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.
“This we ask in the name of our captain, who is Jesus Christ.”
It is easy to hide away from life and the challenges that breed growth. Dare to face the storms and do bold things. Dare to try something new and fresh. Dare to dream and take bold action.
There are many who want testimonies without going through tests. It does not work. Praying should never be a substitute for working. Storms show mastery and reveal competence. It is when the waters are most turbulent that the best of leaders emerge.
Old solutions are never sufficient for new situations. Pretending does not solve anything. The earlier you face brutal realities, the earlier you steer towards the shore.
Mastering life or business is not about having a qualification in business but having the courage to steer through turbulence.
The tenacity to go through the pain barrier leads to greatness. Master the necessary thoughts and execute strategies that take you forward.
It is easy to settle, never stretching beyond the pain barrier, and continuing on a well-worn path of the familiar. Even if the path is leading to destruction, it is all too easy to get used to the way things have always been.
You can never change anything unless it hurts too much to stay in the same place. Change is not just a watchword, but action.
Change will always disturb you, frustrate you and make you think and rethink. To get out of any hole, you have to take responsibility and press the “stop” button.
To get out of any hole requires you to stop digging and start doing things differently.
To reverse out of any situation you face, you have to stop, turn and change course. Change is a bitter and necessary pill that needs to be taken as prescribed. Health can never come the longer you postpone taking bitter medication.
Drake’s prayer is worth making daily and keeping within reach. Greatness does not come at bargain prices and it can be a painful stretch.
Every winner knows, as someone once said: “Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They are made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”
Until you interrupt any pattern, the pattern will continue. Unless you are willing to change, you will always be eluded by growth and development.
You do not have the luxury of looking at where you are and calling this a permanent destination. Great people do not settle.
There is more and you are able to do it. Likely, the capacity you are using is small compared to what you can be and do. Changing your mindset is work and takes effort. You can stretch further and do more.
Do not despair or quit too soon. Sometimes things get worse before they get better. You can dream bigger and bolder while taking massive and focused action.
The cycle of mediocrity can never be broken so long as you do what you have always done, play at the level you have always played at and planned in the way you have always planned. Dare to break the limits and go beyond the usual.
If where you are is feeling too crowded, it might be because you are flying too low and too close to the ground. Dare to go for the open seas of opportunity.
All changes and transitions always produce pain. It is when you cannot go through pain that the cause of change is forever lost. Embrace the pain of change and burn it as fuel for the journey of transitioning to a new level.
You will grow only to the threshold of your pain.
Julius Caesar once said: “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.”
◆ Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and an accomplished workshop facilitator. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: mkamwendo@gmail.com