Redefining the 'constraint'

Yesterday, I heard an interesting TED talk. It was 'Construction of a Joke' by Zakir Khan. It was predominantly about how our insecurities are our strength, while the speaker emphasised on how he felt bad for people who never faced a constraint in life. He says that where there is a constraint, there is creativity and when there is creativity, there is growth and a human evolves.

This is true, but I just wanted to shed some light on what is a constraint. Often I have met people who tell me that they do not have any constraint, which is why they are free to choose whatever career path they want; to the extent that it would not matter even if they do not work. This is a statement that is part-boasting and partly a feeling of satisfaction that comes out from them. I've to admit that at some point in life I was one of these people.

Now, I want to redesign the concept of a constraint. In a country with demographics like India, if I have food on the table and a place to live; basic constraints are over. Post that, it is all about ambition and vision. It is these two things that make our constraints. These are the things that push us to achieve more and force us to think beyond the lives that we live. I live, feeling a constraint; because I dream, because growth is never ending and change is the only thing constant.

Most inspirational speakers tell us about how we live our own race, coming from varied backgrounds and varied circumstances; it is all about whether I am better than what I was before. In essence, this just means that all of us have space to grow. Therefore, next time, when someone comes up to you and says that they have never faced a constraint in life, think about how less they dreamt and how small their vision was.