The Human Choice

Constraints breed creativity.

Right now, the big constraint is money. I’m navigating what feels like an open ocean. Out here on the water, I hear journalists being told to “get a grant” to cover their wages and write their stories. I’ve translated this to mean “No one can pay you (or pay you even good enough)."

As I sit here, I’m making decisions about which subscription to cancel next, no matter how small it is. I ask myself two questions as I sort through my subscriptions. They are “Do I really need this?” and “How can I do things differently?"

None of these decisions and actions feel like a reason to stop what I’m doing. The current moment only feels like a notice to do things differently.

My current media project (Field Sources) is the beneficiary of current constraints. The limitations are energizing my thinking and leading me down a path I hadn’t considered. A path that doesn’t follow our culture’s current obsession with social media growth. A path far more human.

Platforms and their respective subscriptions won’t move my project forward. They aren’t going to help me with the change I want to make. 

There is really only one platform I need, and it’s the communication platform we’re all good at using. I like to think of it as the rotary phone of the 21st century, even though I recognize that not everyone might get the joke.

But seriously. Think about it. Today we can try all sorts of tools for free. There is so much at our disposal that we can take for a test drive, no credit card required. What do they really do for us? I’m beginning to question this more and more.

Navigating my current constraints requires only a human voice and a warm invitation. These have always been free.

What constraint has inspired creativity in your project?