The hardest thing about business... is also the hardest thing about life...
Growth requires TENSION...
And, as leaders, it's our job to
embrace tension,
shape tension,
and help others engage with tension...
"We need more sales!"
"Competition is underpricing the products."
"Competition is fierce."
"We need more capacity."
"Cost of labor keeps going up."
"We need a more unique strategy."
"Every cost keeps going up and the consumers keep wanting lower pricing."
"I can't keep up!"
"The internet and email has erased the lines between work and home life."
"People want more money and less work."
EVERY ASPECT of work and life has tension...
Brene Brown says that the level to which we succeed is the level to which we are able to find comfort with discomfort...
And, she is right.
The advantage of being a leader,
being older,
is that you can see the tension -
from various angles -
and you begin to see that the tension
NEVER GOES AWAY
it just evolves and tranforms shape and flavor...
But, if you are trying to do good, trying to do right,
or heck even if you are trying do wrong and bad...
CHANGE is inherently "transformative" and tranformation creates tension...
I believe everything in life is in a state of either growth or decay...
And BOTH create tension.
The beauty in life is to spend our time & our energy...
To find our passion in
addressing and guiding tension in a meaningful direction.
The WISH that TENSION did not exist,
or the WISH that TENSION would eventually fade into nothingness
is NAIVE. And, brings us disharmony.
TENSION goes away when drive goes away, when caring goes away, when thinking goes away, when people go away...
And even those who try to hide in the woods and separate themselves from the world, find tension in different ways...
The WANT to create a life of meaning...
The WANT to grow...
The WANT to be happy...
creates tension...
And, we get to decide...
do we get swept away by the noise, by the challenge, by the demands, by the overwhelming nature, by the fear, by the details of life...
Or, do we navigate those storms... do we stand tall and become CAPTAINS of our vessels and smile through the storms and the rains... through the winds all the same.... do we steer ourselves boldly over the waves, smiling and empowered by the spray on our face and the strength in our hearts...
Depends on various things...
Do you know where you are going?
Do you know why it matters?
Are you surrounded by people who make the journey worth "fighting" for?
You are not alone...
TENSION is a sign of a healthy LIFE...
TENSION signals the possibility
of growth
of better
of possibility...
You decide,
in harmony,
Nestor