Leonardo da Vinci wasnât just a genius. He was a generalist who connected ideas across fields.
Breakthroughs rarely come from going deeper in one lane. They come from linking different ones.
Range isnât a distraction. Itâs often the advantage.
Comment "BOOK" below and Iâll share a link to my new book, Inside the Box, in which I share science and stories that show how constraints can make you more creative, productive, and satisfied.
Kyrie Irving developed his angles at the rim because part of his backboard was missing.
Swimmers trained by moving through underwater hoops instead of being told what to do.
Both used constraints to force better solutions. If youâre stuck, apply a constraint.
The strategies that work best for learning feel inefficient in the moment: testing yourself before studying; explaining ideas to others; and revisiting material over time.
Psychologists call these desirable difficulties.
If learning feels a little uncomfortable, thatâs usually when itâs actually working.
People who try to maximize or optimize everything end up less happy overall. A better option? Satisficing, which involves finding a satisfactory standard to suffice before making a decision or concluding a project. It doesnât have to mean low standards. It just means lowering them enough that youâre not paralyzed.
A well known psychological principle is that losses hurt more than gains feel good. This âloss aversionâ often leads us to take less risk than we should.
But a series of experiments from researchers at Harvard and the Technion suggests loss aversion is conditional.
Framing and cognitive load matters more than we often assume.
When you are tired, or when the default is presented as the safe path, that is when you are most likely to play it too safe.
Back at my alma mater! Honored to be joined by the great @mega2e ⌠itâs free, and details here /events/inside-the-box-how-constraints-make-us-better/
Most people turn their hobbies into side hustles.
But that can actually remove some of the benefit.
Thereâs value in just being a beginner again.
No audience. No pressure. Just progress.
Kelly, C. M., Strauss, K., Arnold, J., & Stride, C. (2020). Leisure activities and career sustainability. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 117 , 103340.
/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103340
Comment "BOOK" below for more info and links for my new book, Inside the Box, in which I share science and stories that show how constraints can make you more creative, productive, and satisfied.
Comment "BOOK" below to receive a link to my new book, Inside the Box, in which I share science and stories that show how constraints can make you more creative, productive, and satisfied.
