I think about constraints a lot. Or maybe it’s more precise to say I see constraints a lot. I’m conscious of them. They are part of a worldview that decidedly has a lot to do with my up-bringing: hard-working, middle class, Midwestern, Catholic. In particular, there was an understanding of the benefits of constraints; the belief that they are helpful, keep us in line and are there for a reason. So I’m prone to give constraints the benefit of the doubt, while many think of them simply as negative restrictions.

A constraint is neither good or bad. It simply is. What is positive or negative is the consequence of the constraint and how it impacts you for better or worse. Some are out of our control. Some are intentionally set up by people; some for the good, some for the bad. Some are insurmountable. Some should be shattered and some should be preserved. The point is to see them as structures that actively affect our lives.

There are, of course, different kinds of constraints and different kinds of outcomes. Let’s take a look.