A reader from Australia pointed me to a recent piece from Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen: Can limitations and restrictions be liberating? (Thanks, Andrew!)
Life is about living with limitations and constraints of one type or another, but constraints are not necessarily bad, in fact they are often helpful, even inspiring as they challenge us to think differently and more creatively about a particular problem.
Constraints aren't bad in themselves. I've said this before. The problem for many people (and businesses) is that it often seems that "everything is a constraint." But what about the opposite of "everything is a constraint?" What if there were infinite opportunity? Would that make things easier, more liberating?
Reading this Presentation Zen article, it is very clear that abundance of choice is not the right answer. It is just as stifling, if not more, to have too many "petty choices." (My frustration with going to the massive DIY stores for a small home repair job.) What we need is a good understanding of where there are choices and where there are constraints. Make sure you are making the most of the constraint first.