Originally utilized as a propaganda/recruitment slogan for the United States Marines, the quote “Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body”, was later adopted as an almost exclusive mantra by the men and women of Semper Fidelis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semper_Fidelis When faced with particularly formidable challenges, the recognition that pain is a process, can be unquestioningly empowering. The acknowledgment that the painful process first involves recognizing a weakness, is a concept more difficult to embrace.

The quote was originally coined by a United States Senator from Washington State,  Daniel J. Evans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Evans Daniel J. Evans served in the Washington State House of Representatives for nine years prior to becoming the Governor of the State of Washington, where he served three four- year consecutive terms, declining a fourth year. In 1981, he was named as one of the 10 Outstanding Governors of the 20th Century. He developed the Country’s first State level Department of Ecology, the model for President Richard Nixon’s EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). He then went on to serve as the second President of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, prior to assuming a seat left vacant in the Senate. Evans later went on to win the Senate seat, and resigned from it six years later. At which time, he penned a column for the New York Times Magazine, in which he complained that in D.C., there was “too much bickering and protracted paralysis” (Seems much as some things change, some things never change).

For such a seemingly accomplished individual to be known for a quote acknowledging pain, much less weakness, seemed incongruent. Pain in politics, one can reconcile. Admitting weakness? Seems a strategy worthy of killing a career! From all appearances, Daniel J. Evans appeared to have led a charmed life. Raised by an affluent politico family, his grandfather was one of Washington State’s 1st Senators. He was an Eagle Scout, who graduated with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Civil Engineering, and had served in the military, prior to his successful political career. Nothing in Daniel J. Evan’s background would lead one to believe that he had ANY pain, much less, a weakness. Then, there it was. His Toastmasters affiliation.Light bulb moment!

Toastmasters is a non-profit educational group, formed in 1932, whose motto is “Where Leaders are Made”. http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Toastmasters_International The group operates clubs worldwide, solely for the purpose of enabling its members to improve their communication, public speaking, and leadership skills. An organization committed to empowering people in the arts of speaking, listening, and thinking. Apparently, Daniel J. Evans had some issues with public speaking and had even been referred to as an “abysmal public speaker”. Ouch! Yes, Daniel J. Evans knew pain. The kind of pain that could conceivably negate any aspirations for the kind of work that he was destined for. His course of action? The characteristic that separates all great leaders. He knew how to recognize his weakness, his PAIN, in order to overcome it.

It takes tremendous courage, particularly in times of great pain, to take an honest self-assessment and face our weaknesses. But, until you can identify your weakness, it will continue to cause pain. When you engage your weaknesses head on, a tremendous freedom can be achieved from the pain that is released in its acknowledgment. Pain and weakness limit life’s opportunities, and the potential for happiness, fulfillment and success! Remember, “Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body“!

As an aside, the man who penned what would later become the Mantra to the United States Marines, was in fact a Navy man. The quote was from a 1969 Seminar that Daniel J. Evans gave in Kentucky.