What is Your Pain Point? This Will Tell You Everything

Whether you’re an athlete striving for peak performance, a business executive navigating high-stakes decisions, a coach leading a team, or a parent juggling countless responsibilities, one thing unites us all: we have pain points. These are the nagging tasks, challenges, or conversations that we instinctively avoid but know—deep down—would make everything better if we addressed them.

What is a "Pain Point"?

In sport psychology, a "pain point" refers to the mental or emotional block that creates stress, anxiety, or distraction. It’s often the thing we procrastinate on, despite knowing that resolving it would significantly lighten our load. Common examples include:

• For athletes: The extra recovery session you’ve been skipping or the mental preparation you’ve avoided.

• For executives: The tough email you don’t want to send or the big decision you’re overanalyzing.

• For coaches: The honest feedback you’ve been holding back from a player.

• For parents: That overdue conversation with your child about their struggles.

Pain points thrive in the space between what we know we should do and what we actively avoid.

The Neuroscience of Avoidance

Avoiding a pain point isn’t just a behavioral habit—it’s deeply rooted in our brain’s survival mechanisms. The amygdala, your brain’s alarm system, flags tasks that feel stressful, unpleasant, or uncertain as “threats,” triggering avoidance behaviors. At the same time, your prefrontal cortex, which handles logic and decision-making, knows tackling that task will reduce stress in the long run.

This internal tug-of-war creates a mental drain. By not addressing your pain point, you’re expending more energy worrying about it than it would take to resolve it.

Why You Should Start with Your Pain Point

Research in neuroscience shows that tackling your most avoided task first can reduce stress and enhance productivity:

1. Psychological Relief: Completing a pain point releases dopamine, the "reward chemical," leaving you feeling accomplished and motivated.

2. Cognitive Clarity: When you clear mental clutter, your prefrontal cortex can focus on higher-order tasks, improving decision-making and performance.

3. Momentum Building: Resolving one pain point creates a sense of progress, making it easier to tackle other challenges.

How to Identify Your Pain Point

Ask yourself these questions:

• What task keeps resurfacing in your mind, causing stress or discomfort?

• What’s one thing you’ve been putting off that, if done, would make everything else easier?

• If you had to finish one thing before the day ends, what would bring the greatest relief?

• What do you know you need to do?

• Is there an underlying reason why you might be limiting yourself?

Steps to Dive Into Your Pain Point

1. Acknowledge the Avoidance: Recognize that putting it off only heightens stress.

2. Break It Down: Divide the task into smaller, manageable steps. For example, instead of “fix my free throw routine,” start with “visualize my routine for 5 minutes today.”

3. Commit to 10 Minutes: Tell yourself you’ll work on it for just 10 minutes. Most of the time, starting is the hardest part.

4. Focus on the Payoff: Visualize the relief and momentum you’ll feel once the task is complete.

5. Leverage Accountability: Share your pain point with a teammate, coworker, or friend who can encourage you to act.

Your Call to Action

Identify your pain point right now. What’s the one thing you’ve been avoiding that could make a meaningful difference in your day, week, or even your life? Write it down. Commit to tackling it today.

Your pain point isn’t a problem to run from; it’s a challenge to overcome. And when you dive into it, you’ll find not just relief but the momentum to take on what’s next.

Make today the day you turn your pain point into a breakthrough. What’s holding you back? Go tackle it—because everything else can wait.