Is There Such a Thing as GOOD Tension?

I was four or five years old, happily drawing at the kitchen table, when my mom interrupted me to show me that, instead of the circle I had just drawn, I could draw a “perfect” circle if I used my pencil to trace the lid to one of her kitchen canisters.

Thus began my relationship with perfectionism—as opposed to creativity.

Creativity

Now I know that there is a natural—and necessary—tension between what I conceive of creating and the product of that creativity. And that tension is part of the nature of creativity.

Part of what may have broken up The Beatles was the tension between John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney. But that tension may have been part of their combined genius. In my necessarily humble opinion, the edginess—and trend-exploding—qualities of the music of the Beatles has a very different quality the much less edgy music of Paul McCartney and Wings.

Sting, a.k.a. Gordon Sumner, and Stewart Copeland, with Henry Padovani, founded The Police. Sting and Copeland famously battled for creative control. Once again, in my humble opinion, the edginess of the music The Police created is very different, and, to me, more exciting than much of what Sting did on his own.

Another way to say this is that the original edginess of both the Beatles and The Police created a sound and style that was part of what propelled these bands out of obscurity and into extraordinary popularity. And although the work of McCartney and Sting has tremendous merit and gained popularity for both artists, their individual work may not have had the power to propel them to fame on their own as their work in their tension-provoking bands did.

For years I felt that what my creative effort had produced was not good enough compared to what I originally had in mind. In time, I realized that, while there was—and is—a difference between what I conceive of and what I produce, regardless of the genre, that difference is what makes creativity worthwhile. And that difference—that gap—between conception and expression is also what requires continual improvement as well as great courage.

Your life as art

And then I read the book, Your Life as Art, by Robert Fritz.?

Wait.

What?

What if my life is a form of creative expression? What if my business is a form of creative expression? What if the tension I experience every day between what I intend to do and what I actually do is part of the creative process of living? What if the results of my efforts are always going to be a bit different from what I thought they would be? And that difference actually may be telling me that I am actually being creative??

The difference between what I intend to create and what I actually create is inherent to creativity. And if there is no difference, at least the first time, there is no creativity. Instead, there is simple productivity.?

And learning to take pleasure in the process itself takes some of the pressure off of the product. And my be the sign of true creativity.

Minding the gap

So … If you are navigating the gap between what you conceive of and what you express, in your life and in your business, I suggest you consider that you are handling the good tension that comes with being creative. And, by definition, you are being courageous, as you navigate something that may not ever have been expressed quite the way you express it; that, as Martha Graham once wrote, “... If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.”

Take heart. Be creative. Be courageous. Take pleasure in knowing that what you are doing as a thought leader requires that you handle the tension between what might be and what is.

Every day.

A Letter to Agnes De Mille from Martha Graham

There is a vitality,

a life force,

a quickening

that is translated through you into action,

and because there is only one of you in all time,

this expression is unique.

And If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.

The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine

how good it is

nor how valuable it is

nor how it compares with other expressions.

It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly

to keep the channel open.

You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.

You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate YOU.

Keep the channel open…

No artist is pleased…

There is no satisfaction whatever at anytime

There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction,

a blessed unrest that keeps us marching

and makes “us” MORE alive than the others.

– Martha Graham