Mike Posner says the emotional pain he's dealing with now is all part of life's plan to teach him lessons in order to learn and grow and then pass his knowledge along to others.

The singer joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and we asked him how things are going after he recently got brutally honest with one of our photogs ... saying he was embarking on a spiritual warpath to deal with some life challenges.

Mike says he's doing better now and his latest challenge helped him change and grow for the better ... just like a lot of the hurdles he's faced in life and in his career.

He tells us he's grateful for his life in general and all the highs he's experienced -- like Grammy nominations -- and, with that, he's also grateful for all the pain as well.

In Mike's case, there is another silver lining with life's hardships -- they can make for great music, as he points out ... art is a great outlet for sadness, depression, rage, anger and fear.

For Mike, life's teaching him what he needs to learn in order for him to teach others ... and he's got an opportunity coming up to do just that ... with a curated trip to Iceland.