Practice: Sitting With Discomfort

This is a brief practice in noticing your response to tension without immediately acting to resolve it.

Instructions

This exercise takes about 7 minutes. Find a quiet space where you won't be interrupted. The goal isn't to do anything with the tension you identify—just to notice it and practice staying present with it a little longer than usual.

Identify a current tension in your work or life. Not the biggest one—just something that creates genuine discomfort when you think about it. Name it simply: "The tension between X and Y."

Notice what your body does when you bring this tension to mind. Is there tightening? Restlessness? A pull toward distraction? Just notice.

Notice what your mind wants to do. Solve it? Dismiss it? Blame someone? Defer it? Just notice the impulse without acting on it.

Now sit with the tension for two full minutes. Set a timer. Don't try to resolve it. Don't try to make the discomfort go away. Just stay present with it.

After the two minutes, ask yourself: What, if anything, did I notice that I hadn't noticed before? What might this tension be teaching me?