Recently, I realized my grocery shopping strategy had gotten… well, let’s call it “financially inefficient.” I was buying boatloads of produce that rotted before I could eat it. I was getting Instacart deliveries from Target and Costco because I just didn’t feel like going out. I’m not brave enough to share with you my average monthly grocery bill, but y’all, it was waaaaay too high.
So, on the first of November this year, I decided to tighten the food belt. I started doing “Waldi” runs—get everything you can at Aldi, then go to Walmart for the rest. I stopped rushing to replace non-essential items that ran out (no, my existence does not depend on having a fridge stocked with Celsius energy drinks). When the fresh food got low, I’d “shop the pantry” and figure out what was possible for dinner rather than what was easy for dinner.
Have I saved money on groceries since November 1? Yes – hundreds of dollars. I expected that. But something else happened that I didn’t expect: My recipes have gotten way tastier and more creative because I’ve been forcing myself to cook with neglected pantry items.
One cold Wednesday night when supplies were low, a lonesome butternut squash was one of the only healthy things with which I had to work. I’ve never made squash soup before, but I decided to give it a go. It was absolutely delicious!
What does this have to do with leadership? In her bestselling book, Disrupt Yourself, Whitney Johnson talks about the advantages to constraining yourself in business leadership.
- Constraints around time, money, or resources encourage creativity and innovation because they force you to think outside the box and find new solutions to problems (hello butternut squash soup!).
- Constraints also force you to focus and prioritize. Without Instacart grocery delivery, I’ve needed to spend less time at my desk and more time at the store. This has made me focus on what matters most when I am at my desk—and this has been a very good thing.
- Constraints also build resilience and adaptability. I’ve discovered I can indeed enjoy black coffee when I’m out of half and half. I can indeed get an adrenaline rush from seeing a low number at the Aldi checkout. I can indeed adapt recipes in tasty ways when I’m out of this or that.
Imposing strict limits on yourself in any arena of life isn’t easy. But it can be incredibly powerful. Sometimes an over-abundance of choices, resources, and time can be your very worst enemy, while limitations can bring peace, clarity, newness, agility, and capability.
As we lean into the New Year—a time when many of us are imposing checks on ourselves in various areas—let’s remember that embracing restrictions can be a beautiful way to take care of ourselves, as well as a brilliant source of ingenuity, motivation, and adaptation.
