Let Your Tensions Fly

When you’re working on a project, planning a project, researching a project, and making decisions on how best to put that project into action, it’s like knocking an arrow into a bow and slowly drawing it back to your cheek — creating an extraordinary amount of tension in the bow string — harnessing all that potential power and holding it at the ready as you carefully take aim and sight in your target.

You’re probably pretty good and choosing your bow, selecting the perfect arrow, lining up your intended target, and developed perfect form in drawing back on the bow and holding it.

…and holding it… and holding it… and holding it…

You have a lot of practice building energy levels and creating (and holding) tension

But just holding that tension and not releasing it (taking action and following through on your plans) will simply exhaust you. Your muscles will begin to ache, your brow will begin to sweat, your arms will start to shake, and at some point you’ll either choose to abandon or postpone your effort by slowly reversing your draw to return slack to the bow string and replace the arrow in your quiver, or the exhaustion will finally force you to release the arrow wildly and wobbly into space most likely missing your carefully selected bullseye entirely (if not the entire surrounding area of your target.

When you spend all that time and effort building your project to the point where you’re ready to release ideas into the world by deciding to take decisive action and let those plans fly into action — you’re also letting your personal stress and tensions fly.

Holding that bow string at full-draw for an extended period of time is like fretting over a decision that you have to make. Postponing that decision doesn’t prevent stress, it causes it to build. The stress and tension only releases when you actually make the decision and let all that anxiety, dread, and apprehension fly towards your target.