Magic or super developed craft? They can be the same.

A few days ago I moved past one constraint and found another. There will always be a boss, a barrier, an edge — a constraint. As Churchill said, the key is to “move from one to the other with no loss of enthusiasm.” Happy Monday

You can’t always have the right word for the right occasion. The weird thing about words is that they one word can carry so many meanings. The tone, the pitch, the context, the phonation, and so many other factors can change the meaning of a word. It’s a paradox to me that we ever truly comprehend communication from people who use the same words we do. How much is really understood? And how much grace could we extend to our communication partners that we’re not?I’m certain that nothing is certain.

I dare you to invest 5 minutes to consider 5 unbelievable things today. A simple way is a formula.What if I {Thing 1} AND {Thing 2} were combined? The more nonsensical the better.There’s a kind of therapy in embracing the absurd and nonsensical even just for 5 minutes.If you have challenges thinking of your {Thing 1} and {Thing 2}, then determine if it’s possible that you’re taking things a bit too seriously.

There are times when the constraints life throws at you seem overwhelming or impossible to manage. In that instance, is it the constraint itself, the perception of it, or something else? The constraint itself can be embraced. You can choose to love that it’s there, make it your friend, and work with it. If it’s your perception of the constraint, then go somewhere for new perspective. See the constraint from a different vantage point. How does it look different? If it’s something else, perhaps it’s not the constraint at all. Now you get to invite yourself to explore and discover the true challenge before you.

Dr. Sacks continues writing about a patient he calls Mr. MacGregor. Mr. MacGregor lives in Parkinson’s disease. He walks with a tilt. And, he was unaware of that tilt until he met Dr. Sacks. Upon learning of his tilt walk, MacGregor did what any person would do — he stopped and tried to figure out the problem. He ended up learning that there’s an internal “spirit level” in his head that he can’t use — a level is used to align things. To combat his inability to use his inner level, he created glasses which had a level (of sorts) attached. The glasses, while bulky, allowed MacGregor to walk upright and orientate himself. I marvel at how beautiful MacGregor embraced the constraint.“‘So that’s it, is it?’ Asked Mr. MacGregor. ‘I can’t use the spirit level inside my head. I can’t use my ears, but I can use my eyes.’ Quizzically, experimentally, he titled his head to one side: ‘Things look the same now — the world doesn’t tilt.” However, the mirror would prove impractical. Who walks around surrounded by mirrors? “I’ve got it! I don’t need a mirror - I just need a level. I can’t use the spirit levels inside my head, but why couldn’t I use levels outside my head — levels I could see, I could use with my eyes?… Then, with the help of our optometrist and workshop, we made a clip extending two nose-lengths forward from the bridge of the spectacles, with a miniature horizontal level fixed to each side… In a couple of weeks we had a complete prototype… This worked.” - Oliver Sacks, “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat” [abridged for clarity and brevity] Apparently the glasses were the talk of the town. Embrace your constraints.

In “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales”, Oliver Sacks writes:“A ‘phantom’, in the sense that neurologists use, is a persistent image or memory of part of the body, usually a limb, for months or years after its loss.All amputees, and all who work with them, know that a phantom limb is essential if an artificial limb is to be used. Dr. Michael Kremer writes: ‘It’s value to the amputee is enormous. I am quite certain that no amputee with an artificial limb can walk on it satisfactorily until the body-image, in other words the phantom, is incorporated into it.’” In this example, the lack of the limb is the constraint. The phantom limb could be seen as a curse to the amputee; however, that curse becomes a strength. The amputee can maximize the utility of the artificial limb if the phantom limb is present.

When you’re punched down, it might take a second to get back up. When you’re up, there’s only so much that can be done — capacity is reduced. The key is to understand the constraints and then optimize for maximizing to your constraints. I continue to believe that we undervalue constraints. They are beautiful.

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.….. Unless it’s pride… I don’t believe there’s much utility in that.

You do things that are second nature to you. Tie your shoes, morning rituals, drive a car, whatever it is. My “second nature” thing is using a specific music notation software. I know the clicks, the key short cuts, and everything that’s involved to quickly produce a nice looking piece of music. Imagine my shock when I learned the company is no longer supporting its product. They want us to use a new product.I enjoy and hate using the new product. I need to learn all new short cuts, all new clicks, all new ways to do everything that I natively know how to do. Worse than that, I am stymied by not listening to my own advice — everything changes, that’s the only thing that’s constant. How absurd and foolish I am to think it would be any different for software? After a good laugh, I got back to it. It’s like learning a new language. You’ll suck at first, but keep it up, little by little.