If you are doing bicep curls, then your next set should be tricep extensions. Each muscle has an antagonistic pair, and they move in harmony – while one works, the other stretches. There is no one without the other – you wouldn’t be able to curl a dumbbell if you didn’t have those triceps on the back of your arms.

What struck me as fascinating is this lesson applies to all areas of your life. Think about how your operate your business or profession. We are generally seduced into thinking that working more, harder, and longer is always better. What is the antagonistic action of working? If you said “not working” you wouldn’t be quite right. Relaxing is not the opposite of business or professional activities – the ethics of the couch potato don’t save us here.

First, consider why you work. Almost everyone works to make money. If they work and don’t make money, either they are in the wrong profession, or it’s called volunteering. When you work, the defining line is being paid. So, the purpose is the make money or create wealth for yourself.

The opposite of making money is giving money or wealth away. Therefore the antagonistic “muscle” in business is practicing generosity. Does it hurt to give money, or donate to a cause? Does it hurt your pocketbook, ego, or make you wince, thinking how you could buy a new pair of jeans instead?

That’s an indication that your “giving muscle” is weak. What that implies is that your creating wealth muscles aren’t operating at full capacity. It takes both actions to balance each other out and create optimal functionality. You need the bicep to make the tricep work and vice versa.

There’s plenty of focus on the wealth creation mindset but little on its equal partner, the wealth giving mindset. Consider what you need to do to balance both muscles.