The Strategy of Forced Effectiveness and Efficiency

“My freedom will be so much the greater and more meaningful the more narrowly I limit my field of action and the more I surround myself with obstacles. Whatever diminishes constraint diminishes strength.”—Igor Stravinsky

I have learned that when we absolutely have to get a vital thing done, many of us can always find a way to make it happen, no matter the nature of our constraint. Even in a relatively short amount of time and with limited amount of resources, we tend to knuckle down and do the necessary work, often better than we may have imagined or expected.

Such is the moment we realize that we have more powers of creativity and resourcefulness than we often give ourselves credit for. When we are forced to perform, whether by circumstances beyond our control or by the exercise of our own willpower (like gathering the rays of the sun to a single point with a lens), we sometimes bring the best of ourselves to accomplish a formidable task in a remarkable fashion. 

The lesson of today is about perceiving every limitation as an opportunity for growth and expansion not as a dead-end block. As Russian-born composer and pianist, Igor Stravinsky aptly puts it, greater freedom can come from a constraint when we know how to think about it differently. And, to convince you of this valuable insight, I will share the remarkable story of Dr. Seuss with you in a moment.

Constraints and the Success Story of Theo Geisel: Dr. Seuss

Theo Geisel is an American writer (commonly known as Dr. Seuss) who made a great success through the strategy of forced effectiveness in his approach to writing. He did this through what some people might consider, in the beginning, to be a ridiculously unnecessary practice. And with it, he wrote a book that generated hundreds of millions in world-wide sales. 

To write the book, Geisel proactively narrowed his selection of words to mere fifty. He decided to skillfully play with various words in the language to write his popular book, but the maximum limit was not 10, 000, not 5,000 and not 1,000—not even 100 but only 50. Out of over a hundred thousand words in the English language (171,476 at present), the writer chose to limit himself to just a few of tens. As a result, Green Eggs and Ham is now one of the best children’s books in the whole of human history.  

Because of a plain challenge, the author tapped into the core power of his mind to be creative and; he consequently produced something phenomenal. This is why the founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos says, “Frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do.”  Obviously, if we can approach our limitations with sufficient mental energy, many of our problems will eventually turn into stories of joy and satisfaction. 

Dr. Seuss received notable awards for a bulk of his work which includes a special Pulitzer Prize for his contribution to the storehouse of children’s literature. And I think it is not an over-statement to argue that his skill of setting and refining limitations by forcing himself to go the extra-mile was fundamental to his overall success. He says, "My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz. It is the letter I use to spell yuzz a ma tuzz. You’ll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once you go beyond Z and start poking around."

How to Replicate This Strategy in Our Own Lives

We can benefit from this strategy in two important ways:

1} Self-Imposed limitations

This can take the form of choosing a challenging deadline for our personal project or something like travelling to a foreign land on a tight budget or choosing to get across to a difficult neighbour for the sake of our own moral growth. When we train ourselves to live by demanding standards, we will automatically raise the level of our effectiveness. By so doing, we can serve as a role model for others to emulate on how to live better.

2} Circumstances Beyond Our Control

This can take the form of an apparent lack, like money or other key resources that are needed for our progress. The strategy is perhaps more useful here. Once you have fully accepted that constraints are inherently good, the next thing is to focus on what you still have and then ignore what you apparently lack. Remember, Helen Keller had many disabilities, but she chose to make herself able. Thus she amazed everyone by doing what she could within her fatal limitations: she became the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

So what are the available things you can start doing to later invalidate everything you can’t do now. On this, the author of High-Performance Habits, Brendon Burchard reminds us that, “Successful people take their current limitation and put it on their agenda as a job to do, as a thing to figure out and make happen.”  Adopting this mindset will transport us away from a victim mode into a mode of practical gratitude, the mode of forced effectiveness and efficiency.

Also, keep in mind that the American businessman, Colonel Sanders was 65 years old when he founded Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). And if you think about, he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything significant in his lamentable situation without the powerful strategy of making the most of the only one asset he had at the time. 

Commenting on this mindset, the former politician turned speaker, Les Brown added, “Just because Fate doesn't deal you the right cards, it doesn't mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.”

You see, whether it is nature- given or self-chosen constraints, the main thing is less about the limitation itself, but more about what you take it to mean and how you choose to respond to it. So I dare you not only to start seeing limitations as golden opportunities but also to embrace it as a strategy of success at every phase of your life.