Constraints are liberating

Often constraints seem problematic. We say, “If only this wasn’t holding me back, then I could succeed.” But is that really true? More often than not, constraints can actually be helpful.

Why do we play games?

Think about games for a moment. What are they but arbitrary sets of constraints? Soccer (aka football) is one of my favorite games. I enjoy playing it, watching it, reading about it. I especially like watching this guy:

The things he does within the odd constraints of this game are beautiful to watch.

Why would humans, who have these amazing hands - capable of so many things - want to avoid using them? And why is this game, where we use only our feet, the most popular game in the world? Secretly, we love constraints.

The engineering mindset

The reality of our existence is that we are constantly constrained. We are constrained spatially by physics, psychologically by emotions, mentally by exhaustion. But constraints are the fertile soil where problems grow.

What are these two engineers doing? It looks like they are solving a problem. Engineering is the practice of solving problems amid constraints. Aren’t we all engineers sometimes?

The artistic mindset

Sometimes, like with games, we impose constraints upon ourselves to provide some unique outcome.

Maybe this artist is painting a portrait of someone. Wouldn’t it be better to take a photo of that person? Certainly the photo would provide more detail about the person’s face. It would be an imperfect, yet more faithful representation of the truth.

There is something about the constraint of pigment on a canvas, something about the creativity that constraint allows which means the final portrait is different, and maybe somehow better, than a precise photo. Aren’t we all artists sometimes?

Creativity is the key

Sometimes constraints are thrust upon us - we need an engineering mindset to solve problems (this is why I love writing software). Sometimes we willfully accept constraints - we use an artistic mindset to fashion something beautiful (like Messi does on the soccer field).

In both cases, we use creativity to “escape” the constraints, in some sense. It is this process of creation that truly sets us free, that gives us satisfaction.

Since we cannot escape constraints, let’s instead embrace them!