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Something Worth SharingGive, Take and Pay
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme is ‘movement’. This led me to think about all the lessons I’ve gained through weight lifting, ice skating, ballet and all the other forms of ‘movement’ I’ve undertaken in my life. The phrase that was top of mind was ‘time under tension’ or TUT. This refers to the amount of time a muscle is held under tension or strain during an exercise set to maximise muscular strength, endurance, and growth. The harder muscles work, the stronger they get over time. When I first heard it, I thought - incorrectly - I was being instructed to think about ‘time and attention’. While I was corrected, I held on to the ‘attention’ part of my misunderstanding because it struck me that to focus on an exercise in terms of time a muscle is under tension, you definitely need to be paying attention too! Life, work and relationships are often experienced as “time under tension” and we need to pay attention. Of course, it’s not necessarily physical tension, but more likely mental. The tension, when endured - like with physical training - creates strength and growth. It isn’t easy, that I know, but it has often helped me by remembering these three things: Give myself time - and give others time too Take the tension - it’s inevitable and makes us stronger Pay attention - to instincts and what’s going on around me
There is a good reason that the theme this week for #mentalhealthawarenessweek is to physically move - put simply, our body (including muscles, vital organs and our minds) are all part of one system. This beautiful and complex system works - or doesn’t - together. If you want to feel better in your head, move your body!
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