Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Written rules and regulations restrict us. They also allow us to forget about some hazards and concentrate freely on the problem at hand. Restrictions can permit freedom. The trick is to learn where the areas of freedom exist and how to use them.

A colleague was contrasting the type of people who are sticklers to written rules and those who like to take things as they come and go their own way. One example he stated was, “Some of us get on the freeway and drive like there are no written rules.”

My reply was, “If there are no written rules, you wouldn’t have a freeway.”

Written rules, standards, specifications, and all those dotted Eyes and crossed Tees help us to build roadways that are affordable. Once the roadway is in place, almost anyone can drive a vehicle on it at 70 miles per hour and go almost anywhere they wish.

Once on the roadway, there are lines of various color, shape, and size as well as signs along the roadway. There are also written rules restricting what you can do with your vehicle. What is the deal with that? Why can’t responsible adults be trusted to put the pedal to the metal and drive? I mean, if there are no problems then there are no problems.

Once again, without the lines and signs and written restrictions, driving would be difficult for most of us. The restrictions greatly reduce the chance that someone will pass on the right (in the U.S.), greatly reduce the chance that cars will come at you from a perpendicular in an intersection, and so on. I don’t have to concentrate on those problems. The hazards are reduced so I can concentrate on a few manageable items.

I have lived and driven in Africa and other places where the lines on the road are treated as nothing more than spilled paint. The “freedom” from written restrictions meant that it often took an hour to travel a couple of miles.

Fine, we get it. Restrictions in some cases provide the liberty to reach some place or goal. We understand the example of roads and traffic, but we work in something else, something far more complex than just commuting to work.

I agree. I too work in an area that is more complex. Well, I like to think that it is more complex, but what could be more complex than having a million people go from their homes to their places of work safely in a period of a few hours? Well, when you put it like that, maybe this traffic example with its restrictions and resulting freedom is a pretty accurate.

I worked for the Federal government for over 25 years. I know written restrictions and how they can crush people and their efforts to do good things for the taxpayers. There are much tougher than traffic. Nevertheless, even in a government bureaucracy, there are examples of of written restrictions permitting freedom of action leading to good results.

Yes, there is a balance somewhere. There is a point where the written restrictions are just enough and any more restrictions would be far too many. That point varies greatly by situation. I have seen that point vary by individuals who are in the same situation. For example, as I grew in government experience, I learned how to use the restrictions to gain more freedom for my actions.

What to do? If you feel overly restricted, talk to a senior to learn how to experience more freedom under the circumstances. If you feel that you have plenty of freedom, look about for others who feel constricted and share what you know with them. I doubt anyone will increase the speed limit to 80 mph or 90 mph anytime soon. Learn to be free in the current restriction.