Tension and Release

Making an impact requires understanding the simple concept of tension and release. Building and holding tension as a component of success has been illustrated several times, not least by Walter Mischel's famous Stanford experiment on delayed gratification. In this study kids were sequestered with a marshmallow and told that if they did not eat the treat straight away--if they were capable of self control and could handle the discomfort of waiting with the tasty 'mallow tempting them--they would eventually get two marshmallows. Mischel followed-up several years later and found that the 30% of children who succeeded were significantly more successful than those that those who succumbed. The study illustrates that the ability to hold tension, not to give into the temptation of comfort, is a psychological determinant of the ability to make an impact.

The same concept is used in music and sport. Tension in music is built by placing notes over a steady rhythmic foundation. How the melody is placed over the rhythm can build an enjoyable tension - think of the moments before Phil Collins' famous drum roll in "In the air tonight" or the build to your favorite chorus, or the drop in dub step for those as hip as me :)

In sport, my earlier post on Tiger Woods illustrates how he builds tension between hips and shoulders, allowing this to accelerate the club toward the ball. This effortless acceleration is what we get from building and holding tension. It's the ability to seize an opportunity quickly after waiting for the right moment, having built knowledge and understanding. It's quality - making sure that we don't release the product before we have built the process, or the ability to generate relaxed tension through setting strategy and objectives. Ultimately tension can be powerful and pleasurable, the delicious pain of waiting, capable of making people across the world play the air drums as the chorus kicks in.

Who better to hit this one home than Mike Tyson: