Have you ever noticed how the moments that feel the most limiting can unlock the greatest creativity?
When I was in the Nonprofit Management program at Kellogg, I was introduced to the concept of beautiful constraints: the idea that limitations don’t just shape creativity, they accelerate it. In their book A Beautiful Constraint, Adam Morgan and Mark Barden describe how constraints can become a source of strategic advantage when we choose to approach them with ambition, not avoidance.
I didn’t just learn this concept academically, I lived it.
When I was building EduMotion, I didn’t have a production studio, a large team, or a big budget. What I had was an idea, a mission, and a long list of constraints. Those constraints forced me to become try my hand at DIY motion capture, prototype quickly, and learn new skills on the fly. In hindsight, those limitations didn’t block the work, they catalyzed the outcome.
Morgan and Barden call this moving from a victim mindset (“We can’t because…”) to a transformer mindset (“We can if…”).
Looking back, every pivotal forward step I took came from that transformer mindset of choosing to ask better questions instead of surrendering to obstacles.
Educators experience this every day. Overloaded schedules. Limited time. Not enough support. But these constraints can also clarify what matters most and reveal new possibilities for your next chapter, whether that’s a new role, a passion project, or an entrepreneurial idea waiting to take shape.
Your constraints aren’t the end of your creativity. They are the beginning of it.
✨ If you’re ready to explore how your current challenges could become the spark for something new, set up a Catalyst Call and set things in motion.