Along with lots of luck, we humans have two skills that make us a thriving species in comparison to other fauna & flora.
- Imagination (that’s when we added pineapple to Pizza) &
- Take independent decisions (that’s when we think to either eat it or not😆)
These two have made our ancestors stay alive and win the survival of the fittest race.
Think about it: when they were alive, they faced countless challenges & problems, had limited resources, and, worst of all, no Google to quickly answer their queries.
For this reason, they had to make decisions that had big stakes (not like which flavour of Greek yoghurt to choose from) frequently by analyzing the limited information they had, for which they used to collaborate & communicate with others, keep on trying new things and learning from their mistakes.
While doing so, they used to use their imagination and creativity to solve the problem and to think forward. Throughout the course, they failed countless times, but in the end became victorious, proof we’re all alive now.
And they were able to do this because they had one thing that was guiding them, and it was Constraints, or in simple words, limitations.
They had very few resources that we have today and didn’t have access of basic information that we have now, and this is what had helped them to achieve all of this. (It’s funny if you think about it. If they had, they would have just googled how to start a fire or survive a mammoth attack😁😅.)
See, our ability of imagination and analyzing decisions have many upsides, however, along with that, there are downsides that we often ignore and hardly talk about much.
When having to decide something, we often become too clinical and critical that instead of taking a good enough and optimal choice of action, we get strangled in our thinking.
Similarly, we sometimes get so caught up in our imagination that we forget to take action and see it in practice.
Both of these trigger inertias, and stop us to form momentum.
We can’t escape or ignore this.
So, what’s the solution? It’s to set Intentional Constraints in our everyday life (not limited to work only). Intentional constraints work us a binder that helps our Imaginative mind & Decision-making mind to collaborate and work together instead of getting distracted.
And it’s good because, today, we don’t have the same problem as our ancestors had, but what we have is far worst, now we have too many options & choices laid in front of us.
Now, we don’t have to search for What to Do (pick any and become so good so no one can ignore you) but instead realize and put efforts into doing a few things that matter the most by putting in our full efforts.
So, if you are someone who wants to either create something or thrive as a human more than anything, look for ways where you can set Intentional constraints in your work.
For example, I wanted to make the habit of writing every day. So, instead of deciding to write every day, I set some intentional constraints like;
- Time: I will write between 7 AM to 8 AM
- When will I edit & publish it? While writing, I won’t edit and will look at it after next day, writing for 30 minutes, and publish it.
- Environment: Will write on the desk.
- Topic: I will write about my everyday reflection on daily stuff & bits of my learning on marketing, sales and business.
- Words: 200-300 words
The idea of setting constraints is to stop yourself from overthinking overediting & start creating more.
An added advantage is that as you set limitations, you start unleashing creativity (or hidden talent) within you, get moving, and stop worrying about having limited resources at your bay.
Imagination & making decisions in momentum opens up creativity.
So, if you want to create anything or thrive as a human being, start finding ways to set intentional constraints in your work and life.
Good Luck & have fun, and do suggest any good place where I can order Pineapple Pizza from.
