​​Tension refers to being "stretched tight".  Obviously, when things are overly stretched, they may break or snap and that could be a really bad thing.  Tension can also impede movement.  When something is tense, it loses it's mobility.  This is why "tension" has a negative connotation.  However, there are things in our lives that must be stretched in order to allow room for growth or to grow themselves.  For examples, are muscles are stretched through weight training so that they can get bigger.  Tension in certain areas of our life is not only inevitable but it is necessary for growth to occur.  We should not avoid tension in every aspect of our lives but instead, we must identify and recognize when tension is actually beneficial to our growth and then embrace that tension.  Tension can come in the form of relationships, school work, financial distress, health challenges, and many other things. Often times, life puts us in a situation where we are stretched and forced to respond to that tension and that is how we move beyond our current state and grow and eventually reach our full potential. 

When it is raining outside, we can sit inside and complain and whine about it, but it won't change the weather.  We have no control of the weather.  However, we can put on a rain jacket and boots and grab an umbrella and go on with our day.  Life is full of things that we have no control over (ie - the weather) but we have complete control over how we handle things (ie - use an umbrella).  For those things in life that we can control, we should control those things.  Sitting around and whining and complaining won't solve anything.  For those things we have no control over, worry will get us nowhere but prayer will. God cares about us and will take care of things that He has control over and we don't. "Control what you can control and then pray about the rest".  "Champions fully grasp the difference between what they can and what they can't control in an event...and choose to focus on the former."  Dr. Jerry Lynch 

Doing something spectacular often impresses most people.  Break a record.  Winning.  Accomplishing something rarely or never done before.  However, what is much more impressive is when someone recognizes that their ability is much more than they originally imagined and they make the difficult decision to realize that ability by making sacrifices, and investing more time so that they may reach their full potential.  Choosing to reach one's full potential will always exceed doing something well.  "There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability."  Robert Half 

Most of life's relational conflicts and problems can be traced back to poor communication or miscommunication.  This occurs because we talk (or type or text) all day long and for our entire life so we fall under the misconception that we do it well.  The "10,000 hour rule" (see Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers") definitely applies here but in a negative way.  We have all mastered miscommunication by the time we are teenagers and must spend the rest of our lives trying to reverse the bad habits that have been formed.  To communicate well, we must realize that it takes intentional actions and thoughts and "winging it" won't work.  "You might know how to read, but more importantly, what's your plan to read?"  Jim Rohn

Want to be confident?  Delete all of your social media accounts!  "I know what I can do so it doesn’t bother me what other people think or their opinion on the situation.”  Jesse Owens

You may blame your parents for your genetics but you can't blame them for your work ethic.  Your ultimate potential may be predetermined but your effort will determine if that potential is realized.
“There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.”  Derek Jeter

We often are great at setting Long Term Goals but we routinely fail to set goals for today.  What are we going to accomplish NOW that will lead us to accomplishing what we want to later.  "Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."  John F. Kennedy 

... It Has Little Value.  Anything worth achieving will take a lot of time and more effort than originally imagined.  ​"Discipline is the fuel of achievement."

We all need to take responsibility for what we do.  We all fail and we need to own it but not make excuses for it.  Students are responsible for homework and grades.  Employees are responsible for effort and productivity.  Athletes are responsible for commitment and results.  We (humans) are all responsible for how we interact with those around us and how those interactions either make the world a more peaceful and productive place or a conflict ridden and destructive pit of despair.  "A coach can help you with your mistakes, but nobody can help you with your excuses."  Buzz Williams 

​We ALL go through a lot of challenges in our life and many can be quite difficult and life altering.  However, we often look back at the difficult times in our life, and after some separation from the initial pain and distress, we realize that the challenge wasn't as big of an issue as we may have made it out to be at the time.  A huge part of life is realizing that the emotions that we feel at the time of a trial, challenge or difficulty, is more intense than it should be and after controlling our emotions and looking at the situation rationally, we have more control of the situation and also have the ability to deal with it.  

"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." Mark Twain