Ouch, That Hurt

You know that special feeling when you stretch a rubber band too far and have it break and snap back on you, it stings and downright hurts?  I remember that special feeling when I blew out my knee and the ACL snapped.  Everything has limits to which it will stretch or bend prior to breaking.  The actual term is tensile strength, and it is the maximum stress something can stand before it breaks. 

I think we all have an internal tensile strength measurement too.  There is only so much stress, frustration, anger, or sadness we can take before we snap.  The key to avoiding “the snap” is to recognize when you are hitting your limits.  Some but not all indicators can be feelings of anxiousness, being uncomfortable, physical tightness in your neck and shoulders, gritting your teeth, or making a fist.  Those are a few of the tensile strength signs our bodies use to tell us we are about to snap.  When you feel your tensile strength reaching the limits, do a quick internal check to identify the source, and get out of the situation.