The power of constraints with David Epstein

The power of constraints with David Epstein

From ReThinking by TED

May 5, 2026 · 38 min

About this episode

David Epstein discusses how constraints can enhance creativity and drive innovation.

Freedom is revered Western culture, but it turns out that we do our most creative thinking within constraints and boundaries. David Epstein is a journalist who specializes in the science of success, and he joins Adam to talk about his new book, Inside the Box, and what he learned by setting his own constraints while writing it. They break down how innovators use limitations to drive breakthroughs, take a closer look at why a lack of restrictions can actually limit potential, and riff on how our favorite sports could harness new rules to make the games more interesting. Featured guest Follow David Epstein on Instagram , LinkedIn , Facebook , and at davidepstein.com/ Buy Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better Subscribe to David's substack Range Widely Connect with the team Follow Adam on Instagram , LinkedIn , and at adamgrant.net/ Subscribe to Adam’s substack Granted Watch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective Follow TED on X , Instagram , Facebook , LinkedIn , and TikTok ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard . Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza…

People in this episode

Host: Adam Grant

Guest: David Epstein

Topics covered

  • creativity
  • constraints
  • innovation
  • success
  • sports
  • boundaries

Keywords

  • constraints
  • creativity
  • innovation
  • David Epstein
  • Inside the Box
  • success
  • sports

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: TED, Cosmic Standard, TEDAudioCollective

Books & works: Inside the Box

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