Why You Need Tension to Thrive

Let Nirvana, The Oregon Trail, and MLK be your guide.

Oregon trail nostalgia (giphy.com)

There is a necessary element for almost any success.

It is not the most comfortable, but it is often the final step before a major breakthrough.

When you are in the middle of any project or creation there will be that moment of tension that causes frustration.

This is the crucial moment in the whole endeavor.

“You’re frustrated? Good! It means you’re about to have a breakthrough!” — Tony Robbins

Think of a guitar. It’s the tension on the string that creates the tune. I used to attempt to play the guitar. I had a bad habit of not applying enough tension on the strings to form the chords. My fingers were in the right place, but I avoided the tension because it wasn’t comfortable. The result was a muddy, sloppy sound.

Great music composition is actually all about tension and release. Think of your favorite song. There is probably a moment in the dynamics of the music where you feel a great anticipation or slow building–it makes you feel pent up and restless, right before the chorus kicks in and you can’t help but jump up and dance.

Smells Like Teen Spirit Music Video 1991

This is why no matter how many times I hear “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana it turns me into a head-banging lunatic.

The reward or release section of a song is enjoyable because there is a moment of extended tension created by a building crescendo.

And that is how we should frame tense moments in our lives–not as a roadblock, but as a slow crescendo taking us to new heights.

Learn to embrace tension

When you reach the moment of tension in your work, instead of allowing your emotions to persuade you to give up, get excited!

“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.”– Napoleon Hill

When you reflect back on your success, you will find that the struggle you defeated to get there is actually the best part of the whole story.

Tension makes life interesting

Attend any writing workshop and at some point, the speaker will talk about the importance of conflict or tension in crafting a narrative. You could have the most interesting relatable characters possible, but if there is no obstacle for those characters to overcome, the reader will quickly become bored with the story.

In acting and dramatic writing, artists are often told to “raise the stakes” to increase the points where tension reaches its peak. Why? Because it’s thrilling for an audience to watch and makes the whole story worthwhile.

Now, think about your own life. If you are constantly avoiding tension and conflict–you are living a low stakes life.

High Stakes = High Reward

Don’t Create Tension

A word of caution. There are people who take the opposite approach. They thrive on tension so much that they seek to create conflict where none exists. Tension in any work of art is necessary, but it must be justified.

Manufactured tension does not reap the same productive rewards as the conflict that arises organically from pursuing greatness.

Don’t be an active participant in the tension. Learn to recognize tense moments as they happen and respond to them with positivity, energy, and creativity.

Healthy tension is found in the gap between where you want to be and where you are. Instead of seeing this gap as an excuse to turn around, find the best way to get to the other side.

In the world of Olympic sports, the athletes who are able to respond to the tension of competition with relaxation and flow often bring home the gold.

When pioneers used the Oregon Trail in 1840’s to reach the free fertile lands of the Northwest, it wasn’t native people who posed the biggest threat to their lives–it was the land itself.

Right before the end of their journey, the pioneers faced their biggest challenge where fur trappers called “The Dalles.”

The Dalles with Mt. Hood in the background

A thick river gorge cut across this area and gave the pioneers a difficult decision to make, raft their wagons down the rapids on the Columbia River or take the treacherous Barlow Toll Road around the south slope of Mt. Hood.

Floating down the river was quicker but more dangerous. Taking the road took much longer and the risk of starvation and freezing became a reality.

Whichever way the pioneer chose to go, if they survived, they reached their destination. It wasn’t comfortable getting there, but by persevering they could make it through.

“I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension." — Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK Photo: Creative Commons

Tension can bring out your best

When you look at the heroes of the civil rights movement in America, it was the constant tension they faced that motivated them to influence a bigger and bigger audience.

When we learn to face opposition head-on, tension builds our character and makes us stronger.

Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his brilliant treatise on non-violent resistance to racism when he was confined in a Birmingham Jail. In addition to physical tension, King was facing criticism of his work and ideas by members of his own conference.

These conflicts could have given King, Jr. every excuse to keep quiet and pass leadership responsibilities to someone else. Instead, he used the tension to strengthen his resolve and focus his goals. He was at his best when being tested by tension.

In his seventh letter to a young poet, the writer Rainer Maria Rilke tells his protege,

“it is clear that we must embrace struggle. Every living thing conforms to it. Everything in nature grows and struggles in its own way, establishing its own identity, insisting on it at all costs, against all resistance. We can be sure of very little, but the need to court struggle is a surety that will not leave us.”

The life of every beautiful tree is the story of growth through resistance.

Tension forces us to look at our priorities, determine what we really want and gives us the laser focus to reach out and grab it.

If you are seeking a breakthrough in your life or looking to achieve more than you have, it is time to let tension fine tune you.