May 28, 2025
920. Why You Need (Productive) Tension In Your Life.
Send us a text Let's get it. Today, I unpack the hidden value of productive tension—why it’s not something to avoid but something to embrace if you want real growth. After taking a short break and feeling an unexpected sense of emptiness, I realized that peace isn’t always the absence of tension… It’s the presence of purpose. If you've ever felt like you're drifting, lacking motivation, or stuck in a cycle of progress and regression, this episode is for you. Tune in to discover: Why feeling “...
Let's get it. Today, I unpack the hidden value of productive tension —why it’s not something to avoid but something to embrace if you want real growth. After taking a short break and feeling an unexpected sense of emptiness, I realized that peace isn’t always the absence of tension… It’s the presence of purpose .
If you've ever felt like you're drifting, lacking motivation, or stuck in a cycle of progress and regression, this episode is for you.
Tune in to discover:
- Why feeling “off” might be a signal that you’ve lost your sense of purpose
- The connection between purpose, decisiveness, and daily tension
- How to hold the line when you're tempted to compromise
- Why the first time is the hardest, but every time after that gets easier
- The real reason progress fades (hint: it’s not about effort—it’s about concessions)
- How to pair tension with patience to build long-term strength and resolve
- Why you don’t need perfect conditions—you need purposeful resistance
- The difference between waiting and working while you wait
This episode serves as a reminder that holding tension creates transformation —physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Let’s talk about why you need it… and how to use it.
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Keep it simple. Keep it moving. Never settle. Stay tough.
WEBVTT
00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:01.080
All right.
00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:02.339
3, 2, 1. Let's get it.
00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:06.150
Welcome to another episode of What's Your Problem, the podcast.
00:00:06.150 --> 00:00:08.980
If we have not met, I'm Marsh Buice.
00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:19.140
I'm your host, and there's three problems we all face no matter where you are in life, adversity, uncertainty, and complacency, and you have the skills within.
00:00:19.649 --> 00:00:24.600
To be able to handle the adversity, embrace uncertainty, never settle again.
00:00:24.690 --> 00:00:33.420
And those skills all start with a letter C. Communication, curiosity, creativity, continuous learning and action and productive confrontation.
00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:37.350
The better you develop these skills, you'll be RFA.
00:00:37.378 --> 00:00:38.670
You'll be ready for anything.
00:00:38.878 --> 00:00:40.500
Alright, do you know everything?
00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:40.859
No.
00:00:40.890 --> 00:00:42.268
Are you ready for anything?
00:00:42.810 --> 00:00:43.500
Yes.
00:00:44.085 --> 00:00:53.414
The better that every day, man, you work on communicating not only with yourself and others, you work on the curiosity aspect.
00:00:53.625 --> 00:01:03.314
Asking questions instead of living outta statements, creativity, using what you have, instead of wishing that you had more continuous learning and action.
00:01:03.524 --> 00:01:05.084
It's not enough to just learn.
00:01:05.504 --> 00:01:07.394
It's also applying what you learn.
00:01:07.394 --> 00:01:11.534
Learning is changing your behavior and then productive confrontation.
00:01:11.745 --> 00:01:12.644
And I'm not talking about.
00:01:13.754 --> 00:01:16.484
Smacking somebody in the mouth as much as you'd love to.
00:01:16.484 --> 00:01:25.543
I'm talking about the productive confrontation where you confront some things not only with others, setting the boundaries, but also some confronting yourself.
00:01:25.933 --> 00:01:34.155
And I guess this really ties in to what I'm gonna talk about today and it's why you need some productive tension in your life.
00:01:34.543 --> 00:01:36.704
And this was super important to me, man.
00:01:36.704 --> 00:01:38.774
I did an episode, episode eight 19.
00:01:39.493 --> 00:01:45.524
Last week's episode or last time's episode, whatever that came out, um, was about patience.
00:01:45.554 --> 00:01:49.905
And it was a big one for me because I believe that you need patience.
00:01:49.905 --> 00:01:52.183
But patience, just patience.
00:01:52.183 --> 00:01:55.664
Sitting on the bench is not the, not the thing that we're talking about.
00:01:56.024 --> 00:02:00.000
And so this morning in my alone time, man, I started thinking about.
00:02:00.795 --> 00:02:03.644
You know, I kind of felt like I was just kind of waffling along, man.
00:02:03.644 --> 00:02:14.745
I felt like kind of lost my purpose a little bit and you know, God spoke to me and was like, you feel purposeless because you've lost that tension.
00:02:15.224 --> 00:02:17.895
You've dropped it, and to a degree.
00:02:18.419 --> 00:02:22.110
You need that in your life, but it's productive tension.
00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:23.520
So I preface that.
00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:26.639
I don't, I'm not talking about some drama and stuff.
00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:30.360
I'm talking about the productive, uh, the productive time.
00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:44.460
Because have you ever noticed, like after taking a long break, which is what I did recently, and, and it felt good at first, but then you just start to feel kind of off.
00:02:45.525 --> 00:02:48.405
And that happened to me last week.
00:02:48.405 --> 00:02:49.724
I took a little time off.
00:02:50.174 --> 00:02:58.754
I slept in, I didn't read, I didn't write, I didn't create, and at first, bro, it felt great.
00:02:59.715 --> 00:03:06.254
But then strangely, man, I started getting this little, this hollowness inside.
00:03:06.884 --> 00:03:10.064
It's felt like I, it, it, it felt like I had no purpose.
00:03:10.664 --> 00:03:11.745
I had no pull.
00:03:12.284 --> 00:03:13.484
I had no drive.
00:03:15.062 --> 00:03:19.862
And I realized I didn't need more rest.
00:03:21.513 --> 00:03:24.902
It's that I had no tension in my life.
00:03:26.846 --> 00:03:39.145
See, we don't talk enough about how necessary it is to have productive tension in your life, and you think that you want peace and ease and quiet.
00:03:40.600 --> 00:03:45.971
But what you really want is meaning with meaning.
00:03:46.961 --> 00:03:48.251
Tension comes along with it.
00:03:49.721 --> 00:04:00.730
See, when you have a clear purpose, you become decisive, and that decisiveness comes tension.
00:04:01.496 --> 00:04:02.786
That's a prerequisite.
00:04:03.116 --> 00:04:04.165
You gotta have that.
00:04:04.855 --> 00:04:08.966
That's the weight of the responsibility of doing what's right.
00:04:11.216 --> 00:04:18.625
When it's inconvenient, it's saying no to the easy thing so you can keep building the right thing.
00:04:18.865 --> 00:04:22.466
Holding the line is what creates the resistance.
00:04:23.156 --> 00:04:28.286
But see that resistance, that's what reinforces your resolve.
00:04:28.915 --> 00:04:30.536
It's what builds your mental strength.
00:04:31.076 --> 00:04:32.846
It's what sharpens your identity.
00:04:33.985 --> 00:04:39.985
And at first it's hard, but like anything, it gets easier.
00:04:40.526 --> 00:04:54.625
And I say easier, but probably it gets more manageable because as it gets hard and you hold the tension, you're able to develop the capacity and the strength, so.
00:04:54.730 --> 00:04:56.471
Yeah, maybe it gets simpler.
00:04:56.500 --> 00:04:57.581
Maybe that's the thing.
00:04:57.581 --> 00:05:04.331
It seems like it's easier, but it just becomes more manageable because you now know what to expect.
00:05:04.511 --> 00:05:13.540
You now know what comes along with it, and what was once hard now becomes your new baseline.
00:05:13.540 --> 00:05:15.730
At first, it was a ceiling.
00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:22.240
Now it's the floor, and so it's continuously reinforcing those things.
00:05:22.451 --> 00:05:24.670
See, on the flip side, when you break a commitment.
00:05:25.225 --> 00:05:26.425
The first time is hard.
00:05:27.055 --> 00:05:28.735
I mean, 'cause you have that struggle.
00:05:28.946 --> 00:05:34.946
You, you're, you're in your mind, you're trying to hold the line and then the wheels start getting wobbling and then you fold.
00:05:36.386 --> 00:05:43.915
And when you break that commitment, what was hard to break it at first it becomes easier to quit.
00:05:44.755 --> 00:05:45.685
And that's the trap.
00:05:47.156 --> 00:05:49.886
So flip it the first time, it's gonna be hard.
00:05:50.891 --> 00:05:51.701
But hold the line.
00:05:52.781 --> 00:05:59.170
It's gonna create the tension, but each time after that, you'll get better at it.
00:06:00.011 --> 00:06:07.240
So you can never get better at something if you cave every time, if you negotiate with yourself every time.
00:06:07.750 --> 00:06:11.201
If you say, maybe next time, no, next time is now.
00:06:11.531 --> 00:06:12.040
That's it.
00:06:12.521 --> 00:06:13.360
Hold the line.
00:06:15.641 --> 00:06:18.971
Because when you allow these concessions.
00:06:20.906 --> 00:06:30.146
You invite regression, and with that regression, the progress doesn't disappear overnight.
00:06:31.826 --> 00:06:35.365
It erodes very slowly, and that's the deceiving thing about it.
00:06:35.365 --> 00:06:42.745
You don't notice it until all of the sudden, but all of a sudden didn't happen all at once.
00:06:43.286 --> 00:06:44.966
It happened a little bit over time.
00:06:45.776 --> 00:06:51.086
You get so far off course and you're like, whoa, wait, what happened?
00:06:52.435 --> 00:07:04.196
But see, when you can say no and you hold the line, even when it's uncomfortable, you don't just protect your progress.
00:07:05.276 --> 00:07:06.716
This is how you stack wins.
00:07:07.466 --> 00:07:08.995
This is how you build momentum.
00:07:09.625 --> 00:07:12.386
This is how you create clarity in your life.
00:07:14.321 --> 00:07:22.151
If you think about it often, that discomfort, that tension, it only lasts for a short time.
00:07:22.391 --> 00:07:34.810
Think about that when you're, when when you're out socializing and you see everybody else doing the things that you once did, and you're like, oh, I wanna blend in.
00:07:35.170 --> 00:07:36.490
I wanna do what they're doing.
00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:42.430
But when you hold that line and it creates the tension, do think about that.
00:07:42.836 --> 00:07:45.295
How long are you really gonna be uncomfortable?
00:07:45.776 --> 00:07:48.175
An hour or two at the max?
00:07:48.596 --> 00:07:52.016
But if you hold that line, you hold that tension.
00:07:53.125 --> 00:08:03.596
It reinforces your commitment, it increases your clarity, and you get to this point where you're like, oh, I'm whipping ass in life.
00:08:05.081 --> 00:08:11.065
And you don't have to wake up the next day in a deficit and fight all week.
00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:15.341
Trying to overcome and get back to zero.
00:08:16.031 --> 00:08:18.071
But think about that.
00:08:18.130 --> 00:08:21.130
You went from the negative back to zero.
00:08:21.130 --> 00:08:30.790
Took you all week to get back to that when you could have been at zero, held the line, the discomfort for a couple of hours, enjoyed other things.
00:08:30.795 --> 00:08:33.490
Enjoy the whole moment, participate.
00:08:34.541 --> 00:08:37.510
Just don't give your progress back.
00:08:39.160 --> 00:08:40.421
And if you would've done that.
00:08:41.951 --> 00:08:47.230
Instead of being back at zero by the end of the week, you could been a plus 10.
00:08:47.890 --> 00:08:49.091
'cause everything compounds.
00:08:50.471 --> 00:08:51.250
Think about that.
00:08:51.730 --> 00:08:58.541
It's tough at first, but the more you do this, the more you can dance with the tension.
00:08:58.931 --> 00:09:00.490
And I think that's an operative word.
00:09:00.640 --> 00:09:02.860
Dancing with the tension.
00:09:04.150 --> 00:09:05.020
So the.
00:09:05.515 --> 00:09:10.135
Discomfort will last for about an hour or two.
00:09:10.885 --> 00:09:12.326
It's a brief period of time.
00:09:13.525 --> 00:09:22.885
Regrets last a lot longer, so you gotta ask yourself, would I'd rather be uncomfortable now or full of regret later?
00:09:23.666 --> 00:09:27.926
See, when you cave to the cravings, your inner voice, it turns on you.
00:09:29.216 --> 00:09:29.755
It does.
00:09:29.816 --> 00:09:33.475
It whispers to you to go ahead, fit in with everybody.
00:09:33.941 --> 00:09:39.880
But the minute you do it, it's full of guilt, full of shame, full of disappointment.
00:09:40.660 --> 00:09:53.471
But see, when you hold the line, you hold that tension, those same voices, they begin to line up and they say, oh, wait a minute.
00:09:54.520 --> 00:09:56.801
Oh you, you're really serious this time.
00:09:57.850 --> 00:09:58.660
Okay, I get it.
00:09:59.591 --> 00:10:00.850
And bro, that's the turning point.
00:10:01.706 --> 00:10:10.676
This is where your identity shifts, and this is when you stop reacting and you just reinforce who you're becoming.
00:10:12.043 --> 00:10:16.842
People who lack purpose, lack tension.
00:10:17.322 --> 00:10:17.982
Think about that.
00:10:18.793 --> 00:10:19.212
They do.
00:10:19.812 --> 00:10:26.562
People who lack purpose, they lack the tension, and without the tension, you get no progress.
00:10:27.283 --> 00:10:29.113
See, purpose gives you the direction.
00:10:29.982 --> 00:10:31.842
Direction brings resistance.
00:10:32.442 --> 00:10:35.413
Resistance builds strength and creativity.
00:10:35.743 --> 00:10:38.023
It's kind of like the progressive overload in the gym.
00:10:38.503 --> 00:10:43.423
You wanna grow, you gotta add some weight, and the same thing happens in life.
00:10:43.602 --> 00:10:46.783
That tension is what builds the capacity.
00:10:47.562 --> 00:10:52.842
It's what also sharpens your creativity too, because when you're up against the edge.
00:10:53.982 --> 00:10:55.363
This is where you get resourceful.
00:10:55.543 --> 00:10:57.342
You don't wait for perfect conditions.
00:10:57.822 --> 00:10:59.442
You just use what you already got.
00:11:01.003 --> 00:11:02.743
But you wouldn't be able to have that.
00:11:03.283 --> 00:11:04.663
You wouldn't be able to realize that.
00:11:04.663 --> 00:11:13.692
You wouldn't be able to cultivate that had you not embraced the magic of tension.
00:11:15.192 --> 00:11:17.052
It is, it's magic.
00:11:17.082 --> 00:11:18.163
It's actually superpower.
00:11:20.832 --> 00:11:28.062
Now the last thing I wanna reinforce this with, so you have the purpose, you have the decisiveness.
00:11:28.753 --> 00:11:31.932
With that decisiveness, you're going to have tension.
00:11:32.352 --> 00:11:34.543
It's here, but it's good.
00:11:34.753 --> 00:11:35.562
It's good for you.
00:11:37.572 --> 00:11:39.192
Lastly, you gotta have patience.
00:11:39.523 --> 00:11:42.523
Last week's episode on patience was super important to me.
00:11:43.062 --> 00:11:47.832
'cause many times I get frustrated because I'm not far enough in long in life.
00:11:48.238 --> 00:11:49.738
I should be at these points.
00:11:50.788 --> 00:12:05.727
And patience is the capacity, the tolerance that you build and accept that there's going to be delay, struggle, suffering.
00:12:05.727 --> 00:12:10.317
You're gonna have these things, but you, you are patient.
00:12:10.677 --> 00:12:16.557
You don't get angry, you don't snap, you don't clear the board.
00:12:18.650 --> 00:12:24.274
It's because you have a purpose, so you do need the patience.
00:12:25.414 --> 00:12:30.754
But patience without purpose is just procrastination.
00:12:31.474 --> 00:12:31.714
True.
00:12:31.714 --> 00:12:36.004
Patience is when you keep showing up, even when the results are delayed.
00:12:36.604 --> 00:12:41.734
You trust that the work that you're doing matters, even though it doesn't pay off yet, you hold steady.
00:12:42.394 --> 00:12:47.553
Because you're not here just for this dopamine hit this instant gratification.
00:12:48.543 --> 00:12:51.004
You're here for long-term results.
00:12:51.333 --> 00:12:52.774
You're creating a lifestyle.
00:12:52.923 --> 00:12:56.043
You have a long-term vision, so you keep at it.
00:12:56.494 --> 00:12:59.823
You keep writing, you keep building, you keep learning.
00:13:00.484 --> 00:13:02.014
You keep shaping your behavior.
00:13:02.313 --> 00:13:09.514
You keep moving even if no one sees it, even when you're tired because you've got purpose.
00:13:10.818 --> 00:13:17.419
You embrace the productive tension and you've got the patience to let it work itself out.
00:13:18.769 --> 00:13:22.698
So if you're feeling a little bit off today, you're in good company.
00:13:23.719 --> 00:13:24.318
I am too.
00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:26.509
This is why I wrote this.
00:13:27.948 --> 00:13:36.708
So if you feel kind of hollow, kind of frustrated , maybe it's not that you need more rest.
00:13:38.644 --> 00:13:42.543
Maybe it's that you need more purposeful tension.
00:13:43.683 --> 00:13:45.423
Don't run from the resistance.
00:13:45.933 --> 00:13:46.803
Lean into it.
00:13:46.923 --> 00:13:50.614
That tension is how you know that you're still in the game.
00:13:51.634 --> 00:13:58.413
It's the purpose, decisiveness, productive tension and patience.
00:13:59.254 --> 00:14:00.604
You stack those together.
00:14:01.744 --> 00:14:02.913
Now you're unstoppable.
00:14:03.844 --> 00:14:04.683
Let's get outta here.
00:14:04.774 --> 00:14:08.464
Thanks for sharing this episode with one person who needs to hear it.
00:14:08.884 --> 00:14:12.484
Also, if you haven't left a rating or review, I'm gonna beg with you.
00:14:12.573 --> 00:14:13.504
Please do so.
00:14:13.653 --> 00:14:15.484
What does, what's your problem mean to you?
00:14:15.543 --> 00:14:17.163
What episode helped you most?
00:14:17.163 --> 00:14:18.514
Why do you keep coming back?
00:14:18.783 --> 00:14:21.453
There are millions of podcasts for people to choose from.
00:14:21.964 --> 00:14:24.244
It means a lot, man, that you give me your time.
00:14:24.994 --> 00:14:35.614
And hopefully I give something back in return, and if you would just pay it forward, let someone know, Hey, check out this episode and leave a rating or review whichever platform that you listen to.
00:14:36.244 --> 00:14:37.354
It helps grow the show.
00:14:37.474 --> 00:14:37.864
All right?
00:14:37.864 --> 00:14:39.634
With that, keep it simple, keep it moving.
00:14:39.634 --> 00:14:40.533
Never settle.
00:14:41.344 --> 00:14:43.894
Stay tense, peace.
00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:01.080
All right.
00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:02.339
3, 2, 1. Let's get it.
00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:06.150
Welcome to another episode of What's Your Problem, the podcast.
00:00:06.150 --> 00:00:08.980
If we have not met, I'm Marsh Buice.
00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:19.140
I'm your host, and there's three problems we all face no matter where you are in life, adversity, uncertainty, and complacency, and you have the skills within.
00:00:19.649 --> 00:00:24.600
To be able to handle the adversity, embrace uncertainty, never settle again.
00:00:24.690 --> 00:00:33.420
And those skills all start with a letter C. Communication, curiosity, creativity, continuous learning and action and productive confrontation.
00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:37.350
The better you develop these skills, you'll be RFA.
00:00:37.378 --> 00:00:38.670
You'll be ready for anything.
00:00:38.878 --> 00:00:40.500
Alright, do you know everything?
00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:40.859
No.
00:00:40.890 --> 00:00:42.268
Are you ready for anything?
00:00:42.810 --> 00:00:43.500
Yes.
00:00:44.085 --> 00:00:53.414
The better that every day, man, you work on communicating not only with yourself and others, you work on the curiosity aspect.
00:00:53.625 --> 00:01:03.314
Asking questions instead of living outta statements, creativity, using what you have, instead of wishing that you had more continuous learning and action.
00:01:03.524 --> 00:01:05.084
It's not enough to just learn.
00:01:05.504 --> 00:01:07.394
It's also applying what you learn.
00:01:07.394 --> 00:01:11.534
Learning is changing your behavior and then productive confrontation.
00:01:11.745 --> 00:01:12.644
And I'm not talking about.
00:01:13.754 --> 00:01:16.484
Smacking somebody in the mouth as much as you'd love to.
00:01:16.484 --> 00:01:25.543
I'm talking about the productive confrontation where you confront some things not only with others, setting the boundaries, but also some confronting yourself.
00:01:25.933 --> 00:01:34.155
And I guess this really ties in to what I'm gonna talk about today and it's why you need some productive tension in your life.
00:01:34.543 --> 00:01:36.704
And this was super important to me, man.
00:01:36.704 --> 00:01:38.774
I did an episode, episode eight 19.
00:01:39.493 --> 00:01:45.524
Last week's episode or last time's episode, whatever that came out, um, was about patience.
00:01:45.554 --> 00:01:49.905
And it was a big one for me because I believe that you need patience.
00:01:49.905 --> 00:01:52.183
But patience, just patience.
00:01:52.183 --> 00:01:55.664
Sitting on the bench is not the, not the thing that we're talking about.
00:01:56.024 --> 00:02:00.000
And so this morning in my alone time, man, I started thinking about.
00:02:00.795 --> 00:02:03.644
You know, I kind of felt like I was just kind of waffling along, man.
00:02:03.644 --> 00:02:14.745
I felt like kind of lost my purpose a little bit and you know, God spoke to me and was like, you feel purposeless because you've lost that tension.
00:02:15.224 --> 00:02:17.895
You've dropped it, and to a degree.
00:02:18.419 --> 00:02:22.110
You need that in your life, but it's productive tension.
00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:23.520
So I preface that.
00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:26.639
I don't, I'm not talking about some drama and stuff.
00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:30.360
I'm talking about the productive, uh, the productive time.
00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:44.460
Because have you ever noticed, like after taking a long break, which is what I did recently, and, and it felt good at first, but then you just start to feel kind of off.
00:02:45.525 --> 00:02:48.405
And that happened to me last week.
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I took a little time off.
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I slept in, I didn't read, I didn't write, I didn't create, and at first, bro, it felt great.
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But then strangely, man, I started getting this little, this hollowness inside.
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It's felt like I, it, it, it felt like I had no purpose.
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I had no pull.
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I had no drive.
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And I realized I didn't need more rest.
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It's that I had no tension in my life.
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See, we don't talk enough about how necessary it is to have productive tension in your life, and you think that you want peace and ease and quiet.
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But what you really want is meaning with meaning.
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Tension comes along with it.
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See, when you have a clear purpose, you become decisive, and that decisiveness comes tension.
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That's a prerequisite.
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You gotta have that.
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That's the weight of the responsibility of doing what's right.
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When it's inconvenient, it's saying no to the easy thing so you can keep building the right thing.
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Holding the line is what creates the resistance.
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But see that resistance, that's what reinforces your resolve.
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It's what builds your mental strength.
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It's what sharpens your identity.
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And at first it's hard, but like anything, it gets easier.
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And I say easier, but probably it gets more manageable because as it gets hard and you hold the tension, you're able to develop the capacity and the strength, so.
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Yeah, maybe it gets simpler.
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Maybe that's the thing.
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It seems like it's easier, but it just becomes more manageable because you now know what to expect.
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You now know what comes along with it, and what was once hard now becomes your new baseline.
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At first, it was a ceiling.
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Now it's the floor, and so it's continuously reinforcing those things.
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See, on the flip side, when you break a commitment.
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The first time is hard.
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I mean, 'cause you have that struggle.
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You, you're, you're in your mind, you're trying to hold the line and then the wheels start getting wobbling and then you fold.
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And when you break that commitment, what was hard to break it at first it becomes easier to quit.
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And that's the trap.
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So flip it the first time, it's gonna be hard.
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But hold the line.
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It's gonna create the tension, but each time after that, you'll get better at it.
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So you can never get better at something if you cave every time, if you negotiate with yourself every time.
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If you say, maybe next time, no, next time is now.
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That's it.
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Hold the line.
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Because when you allow these concessions.
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You invite regression, and with that regression, the progress doesn't disappear overnight.
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It erodes very slowly, and that's the deceiving thing about it.
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You don't notice it until all of the sudden, but all of a sudden didn't happen all at once.
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It happened a little bit over time.
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You get so far off course and you're like, whoa, wait, what happened?
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But see, when you can say no and you hold the line, even when it's uncomfortable, you don't just protect your progress.
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This is how you stack wins.
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This is how you build momentum.
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This is how you create clarity in your life.
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If you think about it often, that discomfort, that tension, it only lasts for a short time.
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Think about that when you're, when when you're out socializing and you see everybody else doing the things that you once did, and you're like, oh, I wanna blend in.
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I wanna do what they're doing.
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But when you hold that line and it creates the tension, do think about that.
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How long are you really gonna be uncomfortable?
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An hour or two at the max?
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But if you hold that line, you hold that tension.
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It reinforces your commitment, it increases your clarity, and you get to this point where you're like, oh, I'm whipping ass in life.
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And you don't have to wake up the next day in a deficit and fight all week.
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Trying to overcome and get back to zero.
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But think about that.
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You went from the negative back to zero.
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Took you all week to get back to that when you could have been at zero, held the line, the discomfort for a couple of hours, enjoyed other things.
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Enjoy the whole moment, participate.
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Just don't give your progress back.
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And if you would've done that.
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Instead of being back at zero by the end of the week, you could been a plus 10.
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'cause everything compounds.
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Think about that.
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It's tough at first, but the more you do this, the more you can dance with the tension.
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And I think that's an operative word.
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Dancing with the tension.
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So the.
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Discomfort will last for about an hour or two.
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It's a brief period of time.
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Regrets last a lot longer, so you gotta ask yourself, would I'd rather be uncomfortable now or full of regret later?
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See, when you cave to the cravings, your inner voice, it turns on you.
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It does.
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It whispers to you to go ahead, fit in with everybody.
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But the minute you do it, it's full of guilt, full of shame, full of disappointment.
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But see, when you hold the line, you hold that tension, those same voices, they begin to line up and they say, oh, wait a minute.
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Oh you, you're really serious this time.
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Okay, I get it.
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And bro, that's the turning point.
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This is where your identity shifts, and this is when you stop reacting and you just reinforce who you're becoming.
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People who lack purpose, lack tension.
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Think about that.
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They do.
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People who lack purpose, they lack the tension, and without the tension, you get no progress.
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See, purpose gives you the direction.
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Direction brings resistance.
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Resistance builds strength and creativity.
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It's kind of like the progressive overload in the gym.
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You wanna grow, you gotta add some weight, and the same thing happens in life.
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That tension is what builds the capacity.
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It's what also sharpens your creativity too, because when you're up against the edge.
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This is where you get resourceful.
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You don't wait for perfect conditions.
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You just use what you already got.
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But you wouldn't be able to have that.
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You wouldn't be able to realize that.
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You wouldn't be able to cultivate that had you not embraced the magic of tension.
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It is, it's magic.
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It's actually superpower.
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Now the last thing I wanna reinforce this with, so you have the purpose, you have the decisiveness.
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With that decisiveness, you're going to have tension.
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It's here, but it's good.
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It's good for you.
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Lastly, you gotta have patience.
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Last week's episode on patience was super important to me.
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'cause many times I get frustrated because I'm not far enough in long in life.
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I should be at these points.
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And patience is the capacity, the tolerance that you build and accept that there's going to be delay, struggle, suffering.
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You're gonna have these things, but you, you are patient.
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You don't get angry, you don't snap, you don't clear the board.
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It's because you have a purpose, so you do need the patience.
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But patience without purpose is just procrastination.
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True.
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Patience is when you keep showing up, even when the results are delayed.
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You trust that the work that you're doing matters, even though it doesn't pay off yet, you hold steady.
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Because you're not here just for this dopamine hit this instant gratification.
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You're here for long-term results.
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You're creating a lifestyle.
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You have a long-term vision, so you keep at it.
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You keep writing, you keep building, you keep learning.
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You keep shaping your behavior.
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You keep moving even if no one sees it, even when you're tired because you've got purpose.
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You embrace the productive tension and you've got the patience to let it work itself out.
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So if you're feeling a little bit off today, you're in good company.
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I am too.
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This is why I wrote this.
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So if you feel kind of hollow, kind of frustrated , maybe it's not that you need more rest.
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Maybe it's that you need more purposeful tension.
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Don't run from the resistance.
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Lean into it.
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That tension is how you know that you're still in the game.
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It's the purpose, decisiveness, productive tension and patience.
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You stack those together.
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Now you're unstoppable.
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Let's get outta here.
00:14:04.774 --> 00:14:08.464
Thanks for sharing this episode with one person who needs to hear it.
00:14:08.884 --> 00:14:12.484
Also, if you haven't left a rating or review, I'm gonna beg with you.
00:14:12.573 --> 00:14:13.504
Please do so.
00:14:13.653 --> 00:14:15.484
What does, what's your problem mean to you?
00:14:15.543 --> 00:14:17.163
What episode helped you most?
00:14:17.163 --> 00:14:18.514
Why do you keep coming back?
00:14:18.783 --> 00:14:21.453
There are millions of podcasts for people to choose from.
00:14:21.964 --> 00:14:24.244
It means a lot, man, that you give me your time.
00:14:24.994 --> 00:14:35.614
And hopefully I give something back in return, and if you would just pay it forward, let someone know, Hey, check out this episode and leave a rating or review whichever platform that you listen to.
00:14:36.244 --> 00:14:37.354
It helps grow the show.
00:14:37.474 --> 00:14:37.864
All right?
00:14:37.864 --> 00:14:39.634
With that, keep it simple, keep it moving.
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Never settle.
00:14:41.344 --> 00:14:43.894
Stay tense, peace.