When I say the word tension what do you think? If you are like most people you think, "Tension is bad and I need to reduce it in my life" and you turn to any number of so-called stress reducers a bubble bath, a glass of wine, or zoning in front of the television. And to a certain degree you would be right. Tension out of control can be damaging both mentally and physically. However, in business and life we need a certain amount of tension to get things done what I call "productive tension".
What sorts of things cause your tension to rise? Usually it involves some kind of deadline on a task or an obligation to another person or group of people. Now imagine that all those potential sources of tension just went away with the wave of a magic wand. Life might feel very different with no tension almost tranquil, but let me ask you how productive you would be? When you are lying on the beach on vacation it feels great for a few days maybe even a week, but after a while what starts to happen we get bored. There is no sense of accomplishment while we are lying on the beach; our purpose becomes obscured for a time while we recharge.
Productive tension is about finding the appropriate level of stress or anxiety for particular mission critical activities. Then operating out of an awareness of factors that might move our tension up or down out of the productive range and responding appropriately to stay in the sweet spot. Are you paying attention to tension?
