According to Osho, growth is painful because it forces you to encounter the pains you’ve long repressed; avoidance only stores them up. Society teaches suppression—of pain and even pleasure—flattening life’s peaks and valleys. Real growth embraces this polarity: accept pain directly (“be hot, be cold”), not bypass it. Facing wounds dissolves suffering and deepens your capacity for joy—roots in the dark valley raise the tree to higher peaks.
Growing hurts because you stop running from hurt, feel it fully, and that makes room for more real happiness.