My Guiding Question: What would Life be Like with Fewer Constraints?
Here’s a question I’m asking myself lately. 👇
❓ What would life be like with fewer constraints?
I’ve landed on this question recently after two experiences : a session with Dave Evans (of the Designing Your Life class and book) and an hour-long overview of the power of creativity in a business setting.
Dave encouraged us to think of a “guiding question” that helps to define where we are in life, right now. This question can serve as a reflection or a prompt to support decision making – big and small – and to remind us what we’re doing and why. A guiding question can help us sift through all the noise that surrounds us all constantly.
In the creativity seminar, I learned about several tools to introduce creativity into problem solving. One caught my eye: before tackling the problem, first list out and challenge the presumed constraints. The basic idea, as I understand it, is that typically we can be too quick to accept constraints as given facts, but if we challenge them and imagine the problem with fewer constraints, we can spark creative outcomes.
Putting the two concepts together inspired a “guiding question” that feels good for me at this stage of my life: what would life be like with fewer constraints?
Here’s an example of how I have grown to allow constraints that I am now challenging.
Somewhere early I life I learned that it’s good to be punctual. My desire to be on time has served me well. I’m usually the first to arrive for dinner. I rarely miss a plane, train or an appointment. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve found that my desire to be punctual has become a constraint on my actions. I waste time to make sure that I have enough “buffer” when traveling for work or pleasure. I decide against an impromptu museum visit because I’m worried that we won’t be on time for our dinner reservation.
How else is this self-imposed restraint limiting me?
You might have your own set of constraints that you live under, and that are at least partially self-imposed. As an experiment, identify one and ask yourself, what would I do differently if I loosened this constraint? Would I make different decisions and experience the world differently if I didn’t prioritize this rule so much? At a minimum wouldn’t you like to know what you’re leaving on the table because of this self-imposed constraint?
As we begin to wrap up 2024, I’m going to look for more self-imposed constraints and examine how they impact my decisions.
And I’ll wonder, what would life be like with fewer constraints?
If this sort of inquiry interests you, connect with me here or at john@aconnectedcoach.com