We typically fear pain and try to avoid it at all cost. Yet it is an unparalleled gate to positive experiences involving richer connections to ourselves, others and our world, says Brock Bastian, ARC Future Fellow, School of Psychology at UNSW Australia. A heightened sense of pleasure, more fulfilling relationships, more happiness and reduced sadness, as well as a higher capacity to manage pain, such are the rewards that can be reaped from welcoming pain as a positive, according to emerging evidence. Definitely worth contemplating.