I never wanted to wear a helmet when I was little and riding a bike. I just thought it was so lame, and it made my head hot and my hair all messy. Despite my mother telling me it was important to wear one I would always try my best to sneak off without one. One day, inevitably, I fell off of that bike and hit my head on the concrete. It hurt like hell. Blood was everywhere. My vision was blurry for almost a week.
Now, I suppose at this point you might think "well you learned that lesson" but if you were to see me riding a bike today, I do not wear a helmet. In fact, after that accident, the next time I rode the bike I wore a helmet. And then I decided to take it off when I realized I hadn't fallen off, and all it was doing was making my head hot.
I have not hit my head from falling off of a bike ever since.
I hurt once, badly, for about a week. But, I also was free from helmet hair, getting overheated and looking really stupid the rest of the time I rode my bike. If I had been wearing a helmet the whole time it would have caused much more pain than falling off the bike had, however it would have been stretched out.
Pain is pain; no matter the degree, length, or type. Pain is inevitable, and so is your forced choosing of your pain.