Tension

When you think of tension, it’s usually stressful.  You feel the tension in your face, your back, your toes.  Your breathing is a little faster.  You might have a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.  It’s uncomfortable.

But the release of tension is great.

You see the buildup and release of tension in scary movies.  In fact, all story arcs follow a pattern of the buildup and release of tension.  Music often has that pattern as well.  You see it in roller coasters and while watching sports.  Holding yoga poses builds up tension that gets released as you move to the next pose.  Explosive exercise has a release of tension when it’s over.

The more tension you feel, the more euphoric the release feels.

Tension can also be caused by fighting change.  If circumstances change and you’re unwilling to accept that, there’s a lot of tension.  For example, your job changes but you try to keep things the same.  Or if a friend changes but you want to keep the relationship the same, tension builds.  The only way to release the tension is by adapting your approach or by changing the nature of the relationship.