Not What You Want
Constraint offers an unparalleled opportunity for growth and innovation.
–Scott Dadich, creative director, Wired
The over-indulgence era is over. Our generation will not be defined by gluttony, excessive spending, TV, irresponsible waste, extreme credit card debt, bottled water, SUVs, tourism tag lines, oil, news media, egregious poverty in large populations all over the world, Hollywood culture, the pursuit of more, knowing much yet doing little, a lack of great leadership, apathy or lukewarm faithlessness.
Or will it?
Understanding that which we don’t want is just as important as understanding that which we do. In understanding what we don’t want we aim to eliminate any chance of investing poorly into a situation, opportunity, venture or relationship that may lead to adverse consequences in the future. By eliminating these poor investments, we are able to allocate our resources into ventures and relationships and opportunities that we truly do want or that will be pertinent and worthwhile to our lives and the lives of others in the future**.
Downfall, many times, can be partly attributed to not fully understanding that which we do not want and focusing nearly exclusively on that which we do. In other words, a lack of disciplined thinking and robust understanding. By comprehending what we don’t want as well as what we do, we are able to hone in on what is genuinely important to our lives and what we can actually do without. This focus allows us to eliminate selfish, wasteful living.
Absolute freedom to choose and design our lives how we see fit almost always leads to chaos or unhappiness. On the other hand, as Dadich states above, the implementation of constraint allows for great innovation and revolutionary progress. Define your constraints–what you want and don’t want, what you believe and don’t believe–and go create a life that humbly helps a lot of people.
**Disclaimer What’s important to understand is that having a greater comprehension of what you do not want does not give you title to only do that which you want and avoid the tasks and work that you do not. Quite the opposite. You still have to work very hard, many times doing things which you do not care for. All I am attempting to relay is the fact that if you understand what you don’t want you can avoid wasting a lot of time, money and resources on those things and instead use them to invest in things which accomplish a greater good, regardless of how much work or sacrifice may be involved.
2 Comments
It’s interesting that after the early start of this recession, as savings rates started to climb from their earlier point (disgustingly negative), many reporters were quick to say that this will start a completley new mindset for our generation.
I’m not so quick to proclaim that the era of high-spending is over for good. The corrections now are not corrections out of desire, but are out of necessity. If, once this economy begins to turn the corner, we continue those trends, then maybe we will have seen the generational tide turn for good.
Good point. I’m not sure if the tides have turned for good either. I’m not even sure if the turn really happened at all or if it was something we did simply out of necessity alone–a sort of temporary facade put up to survive. We shall see. Either way, I’ve begun finding importance in defining what it is that I don’t want to be involved in or categorized by as well as what I do want to be categorized by. Seeing both sides of the coin so to say, or recognizing that my decisions many times have deeper consequences than what I usually choose to think about. This has changed the way, to some degree, I make decisions.