--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tension of opposites." description: "\"Tension of opposites.\" — Mitch Albom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/mitch-albom-187_opposites_tension-of-opposites-2496813_2496813.png" --- # Tension of opposites. ![“Tension of opposites.” quote by Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/mitch-albom-187_opposites_tension-of-opposites-2496813_2496813.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/mitch-albom-187_opposites_tension-of-opposites-2496813_2496813.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/mitch-albom-187_opposites_tension-of-opposites-2496813_2496813.png) > “Tension of opposites.” [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Opposing forces create tension that drives growth and understanding. **In simple terms:** Opposites create tension. Key Takeaway Embrace contrast to learn. Themes tension opposites growth understanding Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal relationships - team dynamics - creative problem solving Key Concepts dialectics psychology conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - What tensions in your life foster growth? - How can conflict be constructive? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Tension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tension/) ## Related quotes > [The greater the contrast, the greater the potential. Great energy only comes from a correspondingly great tension of opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-greater-the-contrast-the-greater-the-potential-great-energy-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Somethings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/life-is-a-series-of-pulls-back-and-forth-you-want-to-do-one-thing-but-4/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Life is a series of pulls back and forth... A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. Most of us live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/life-is-a-series-of-pulls-back-and-forth-a-tension-of-opposites-like/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/life-is-a-series-of-pulls-back-and-forth-you-want-to-do-one-thing-but/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Have I told you about the tension of opposites? he says. The tension of opposites? Life is a series of pulls back and forth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/have-i-told-you-about-the-tension-of-opposites-he-says-the-tension-of/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“One afternoon, I am complaining about the confusion of my age, what is expected of me versus what I want for myself. "Have I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/one-afternoon-i-am-complaining-about-the-confusion-of-my-age-what-is/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [The tension of opposites: Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/the-tension-of-opposites-life-is-a-series-of-pulls-back-and-forth-you/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [“But there is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites; hence it is necessary to discover the opposite to the attitude of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/but-there-is-no-energy-unless-there-is-a-tension-of-opposites-hence/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [If we can stay with the tension of opposites long enough —sustain it, be true to it—we can sometimes become vessels within which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-louise-von-franz/if-we-can-stay-with-the-tension-of-opposites-long-enough-sustain-it/) [Marie-Louise von Franz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-louise-von-franz/) > [There is harmony in the tension of opposites, as in the case of the bow and lyre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/there-is-harmony-in-the-tension-of-opposites-as-in-the-case-of-the/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [“I do not admire the excess of a virtue like courage unless I see at the same time an excess of the opposite virtue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-do-not-admire-the-excess-of-a-virtue-like-courage-unless-i-see-at/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [During the periods when South Korea played a more active role, the inter-Korean relationship was more peaceful, and there was less tension between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moon-jae-in/during-the-periods-when-south-korea-played-a-more-active-role-the/) [Moon Jae-in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moon-jae-in/) > [In this other dimension I feel tension surrounding my every move. You and I are together at last. We are captive in our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-elektricity/in-this-other-dimension-i-feel-tension-surrounding-my-every-move-you/) [London Elektricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-elektricity/) > [On the stage, the characters express themselves more through words than images. So the arguments of the characters and the tension between characters -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/on-the-stage-the-characters-express-themselves-more-through-words/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) ## More by Mitch Albom > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [the words people do not speak are louder than the ones they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-words-people-do-not-speak-are-louder-than-the-ones-they-do/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Once, lovers on faraway shores sat by candlelight and dipped ink to parchment, writing words that could not be erased. They took an evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/once-lovers-on-faraway-shores-sat-by-candlelight-and-dipped-ink-to/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Giving to other people makes me feel alive. Not my car or my house. Not what I look like in the mirror. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/giving-to-other-people-makes-me-feel-alive-not-my-car-or-my-house-not/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Life goes quickly, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/life-goes-quickly-doesn-t-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [As children grow, they gravitate to their fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/as-children-grow-they-gravitate-to-their-fates/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“If the only thing wrong with Moses is that he's not yours; if the only thing wrong with Jesus is that he's not yours;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/if-the-only-thing-wrong-with-moses-is-that-he-s-not-yours-if-the-only/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“whisper their good-byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/whisper-their-good-byes/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“I had also developed my own culture. Work. Over the years, I had taken labor as my companion and had moved everything else to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-had-also-developed-my-own-culture-work-over-the-years-i-had-taken/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-we-are-most-alone-is-when-we-embrace-another-s-loneliness/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-didn-t-get-it-sacrifice-is-a-part-of-life-it-s-supposed-to-be-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on the good things still in my life. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-give-myself-a-good-cry-if-i-need-it-but-then-i-concentrate-on-the/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [It was sad, the imbalance of it all. Why do kids assume so much from one parent and hold the other to a lower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/it-was-sad-the-imbalance-of-it-all-why-do-kids-assume-so-much-from/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) [Explore all 962 Mitch Albom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## More Opposites quotes > [This is a proof of a well-trained mind, to rejoice in what is good and to grieve at the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/this-is-a-proof-of-a-well-trained-mind-to-rejoice-in-what-is-good-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-strong-man-holds-in-a-living-blend-strongly-marked-opposites/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [The beautiful image today means nothing. It's worthshit. In fact, it's almost as if it has the opposite effect, becauseyou're just like everything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/the-beautiful-image-today-means-nothing-it-s-worthshit-in-fact-it-s/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Most marriages I've known, and I've been married a long time and I've known a lot of married people - you wonder how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mazursky/most-marriages-i-ve-known-and-i-ve-been-married-a-long-time-and-i-ve/) [Paul Mazursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mazursky/) > [Rapping and singing are not two polar opposites. There's so much middle ground. And I think there's a lot of people who find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-koenig/rapping-and-singing-are-not-two-polar-opposites-there-s-so-much/) [Ezra Koenig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-koenig/) > [Humor is the opposite of all self-admiration and self-praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/humor-is-the-opposite-of-all-self-admiration-and-self-praise/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Write against patterns. Go against the devils. Write what you never write. Lie. Validate what you don’t validate. Indulge what you don’t like. Wallow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/write-against-patterns-go-against-the-devils-write-what-you-never/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [The longer I live, the more it grieves me to see man, who occupies his supreme place for the very purpose of imposing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-longer-i-live-the-more-it-grieves-me-to-see-man-who-occupies-his/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,828 Opposites quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tension of opposites.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mitch Albom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/tension-of-opposites/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Opposites" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/tension-of-opposites/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/mitch-albom-187_opposites_tension-of-opposites-2496813_2496813.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/mitch-albom-187_opposites_tension-of-opposites-2496813_2496813.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84c/mitch-albom-187_opposites_tension-of-opposites-2496813_2496813.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tension of opposites.” — Mitch Albom", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mitch Albom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tension of opposites.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/tension-of-opposites/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/tension-of-opposites/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```