Curious about Tension: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. How Tension Can both Enhance and Threaten Our Lives.

Definition of Tension: The act of stretching or straining; the state of being stretched or strained to stiffness; the state of being bent strained; as, the tension of the muscles, tension of the larynx. Fig.: Extreme strain of mind or excitement of feeling; intense effort.

“Tension is the great integrity.” - R. Buckminster Fuller, American inventor

“One way to break up any kind of tension is good deep breathing.” - Byron Nelson, American athlete

I chose “tension” to be this week’s theme because I am noticing a level of tension in the people around me. This tension is leading to stress, which every physician and medical article cautions against.

Yes, daily we hear about all of the economic challenges that are growing. We have been told that, “It is only going to get worse.” And, even when you are an optimistic person like myself, it takes a lot of effort to believe that in every economic recession are the seeds of opportunity. Experts are telling us that many became millionaires during the depression. Will we? I like to imagine so.

So, I ask you how you are dealing with today’s tension? Let me share some of the ways I am overcoming daunting tension and all of the negative news we are bombarded with daily:

1. Exercise and physical fitness are my favorite standbys. I fight tension with the resistance tension of working with tubing and elastic bands. I have also started teaching a modified Yoga class, and embrace Byron Nelson’s quotation about breathing. The attention to breathing slowly and deeply in through the nose and out through the nose has had a huge calming effect.
2. Careful eating and nutrition are amazingly helpful. I notice that if I let myself go and partake of sweets and calorie loaded baked goods, I feel my energy dissipating and my body experiencing anxiety.
3. Rest and relaxation are necessary. Many articles have been written recently about the importance of getting a sufficient amount of sleep. This helps with productivity, and productivity – at least for me – leads to a reduction of task tension. A relaxing walk with nature is also soothing, along with reading for enjoyment.
4. And, finally, I suggest looking for that seed of opportunity. I have started working on coaching short projects one-on-one with some of my subscribers. So far, it has been rewarding and fun. In addition, I feel like I am learning even more from them than they are from me.

I found the quotations concerning tension to be both interesting and varied:

• “The tension between ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ between ‘I can’ and ‘I cannot,’ makes us feel that, in so many instances, human life is an interminable debate with one's self.” - Anatole Broyard, American critic
• “Secrecy involves a tension which, at the moment of revelation, finds its release.” - Georg Simmel, German Sociologist
• “I think a lot of contemplation happens in bathtubs. It does for me. Nothing like a hot bath to ease the tension and think about what's going to happen next.” - Sarah McLachlan, Canadian musician
• “The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet
• “So what does a good teacher do? Create tension - but just the right amount.” - Donald Norman, American scientist
• “So much tension around here in New York. They want to fine you for every little thing you do.” - Latrell Sprewell, American athlete

A few more with a bit of a different twist:

• “I learned very early that an audience would relax and look at things differently if they felt they could laugh with you from time to time. There's an energy that comes through the release of tension that is laughter.” - Twyla Tharp, American dancer
• “If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it.” - George Burns, American comedian
• “It is a mistake for a sculptor or a painter to speak or write very often about his job. It releases tension needed for his work.” - Henry Moore, English sculptor
• “The hallmark of our age is the tension between aspirations and sluggish institutions.” - John W. Gardner, American educator
• “The Constitution is never tested during times of tranquility; it is during times of tension, turmoil, tragedy, trauma, and terrorism that it is sorely tested.” - Mike Honda, American politician
• “In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right.” - Ellen Goodman, American journalist

Are you feeling the tension? How are you coping with yours? I would love to hear from you.

Curious about Opposites: An Investigation and Discussion Prompted by the Law of Polarity

Definition of Polarity: That quality or condition of a body in virtue of which it exhibits opposite, or contrasted, properties or powers, in opposite, or contrasted, parts or directions; or a condition giving rise to a contrast of properties corresponding to a contrast of positions, as, for example, attraction and repulsion in the opposite parts of a magnet, the dissimilar phenomena corresponding to the different sides of a polarized ray of light, etc.

After watching “The Secret” twice, I have been reading and digesting Bob Proctor’s book, You Were Born Rich. In Chapter 9, “Don’t Think In Reverse,” Proctor discusses “The Law of Polarity, or as it is often referred to, The Law of Opposites.

“This law clearly states everything has an opposite. You cannot have an up without a down, hot without cold or in without out. By the same token, if you can figure out why something you want to do cannot be done, by law, you must be able to figure out how it can be done.”

I not only loved and embraced the positive message of the stated law, I also started thinking about “opposites.” As many of you know already, I teach between nine and ten group fitness classes a week. Because of this, I do focus a great deal on strength, endurance and lean muscle mass. Therefore, we work a lot on muscles. And, every muscle group has an opposite muscle and/or muscle group.

For physical balance it is necessary that opposite muscles are developed to possess equal strength. Otherwise, the stronger muscles tend to take over. For example, if you have ever sprained or broken a leg, the other healthy leg bears the brunt of the weakened limb and often becomes swollen or out of balance.

Another example are our triceps (at the back of the upper arms). Most of our daily lifting is accomplished by using our biceps, so the triceps are weaker and looser. The same can happen with our abdominals. When we are performing abdominal crunches with our feet on the floor, our hip flexors - strong muscles - tend to take over. However, if we force ourselves to shift our legs up into the air, our abdominal muscles will be forced to benefit.

Now, that I have vented about exercise, let’s share some of the interesting - and sometimes, shocking - quotations I found about opposites:

• “The excessive increase of anything causes a reaction in the opposite direction.” - Plato, Greek philosopher
• “Light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth presupposes error. It is these mingled opposites which people our life, which make it pungent, intoxicating. We only exist in terms of this conflict, in the zone where black and white clash.” - Louis Aragon, French poet
• “Most people think of success and failure as opposites, but they both are products of the same process.” - Roger von Oech, American writer
• “I've made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I'm convinced of the opposite.” - Bertrand Russell, British philosopher
• “I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton, English writer

Some more questions and thoughts about opposites:

• “We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.” - William James, American philosopher
• “The opposite for courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.” - Jim Hightower, American activist
• “In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite.” - Paul Dirac, British physicist
• “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” - Elie Wiesel, American novelist
• “If 'pro' is the opposite of 'con' what is the opposite of 'progress'?” - Paul Harvey, American journalist

Interesting quotations, don’t you think? Here are two more for you to chew on this coming week. And, as you know, I would love to read your comments.

“Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite - getting something down.” - Julia Cameron, American author

“Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite.” - Paul Gauguin, French artist

Have a great and productive week!