For some reason, it’s easier to accept that on the path to greatness there’s bound to be frustration and adversity and setbacks. You’re bound to feel emotions of fear and worry and doubt.
Yet the one variable that often gets us is tension and here’s why I think it does.
- Tension isn’t an emotion. It’s an action, a force that takes place and impacts us, but more importantly it impacts others at the same time. (You can’t create tension with only one end of a string). The realness of it impacting our empathetic chords is exhausting, so we create a narrative that maybe, just maybe, we can reach the same goal and avoid it. If that means we face a bit more frustration than tension, so be it.
- Tension doesn’t inherently lead to a “bad” emotion. I’m being on the nose by calling it bad like fear, worry, doubt (they’re healthy but debating their goodness or badness can be it’s own blog post for another day). That means we’re in emotional limbo when there’s tension: will we feel good after this? or bad? Ironically, when we don’t know how we will feel, default setting is bad, which explains why no one enjoys confrontation (you know, the assumed negative impact of there being tension).
All said, it’s worth remembering that like a string of a bow drawn tight, tension builds the energy needed for us to soar to new heights. It is discomfort that is advantageous: sharpening our focus and heightening our emotional awareness.
Stay Positive & Lean Into The Tension, Not Away
Garth Beyer is a Certified Cicerone®, Senior Content Specialist at Encompass Technologies, owner of Garth's Brew Bar and a Madison-based freelance writer.
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