Constructs: The Rules We Follow Without Question
What if I told you that much of what you believe, do, and value was made up by someone else? That the systems guiding your choices—from how you dress to how you define success—were created at some point in history, and you’re simply following them because “that’s how things have always been done”? These invisible frameworks are what we call constructs—and they shape far more of our lives than we might realize.
Take the concept of the workweek. Why do we work five days and rest for two? This structure isn’t a law of nature—it was formalized during the Industrial Revolution to improve factory efficiency. Before that, work schedules varied wildly, often based on seasonal cycles or local needs. Yet today, we follow it without question, planning our lives around a rhythm that someone else decided.
Or consider the idea of a three-meal-a-day diet. This isn’t a biological necessity; it’s a construct shaped by 19th-century social norms and later reinforced by food marketing. In many cultures, people eat smaller meals throughout the day or adapt their eating habits based on availability. But here we are, sticking to breakfast, lunch, and dinner as though it’s the only way.
And what about the calendar? Why does the year start on January 1st? This arbitrary choice, rooted in Roman politics and later redefined by Pope Gregory XIII, doesn’t align with any natural cycles like the solstices or lunar phases. Yet we treat it as though it’s universal.
These examples show how constructs silently dictate our lives. But what happens when we start to question them? In this creative exploration, we’ll not only uncover how constructs shape society but also how breaking them can lead to innovation—especially in art and creativity. From time and space to boundaries and absence, we’ll examine how constructs both inspire and limit us, and why challenging them might be the key to something extraordinary.
Universal Truths vs. Constructs: Knowing the Difference
Not everything we follow is a construct. Some things are universal truths—principles that exist independently of human invention and remain constant within the Earth realm and the three-dimensional perspective of human experience. These truths, such as gravity or the cycle of life, govern our reality and don’t rely on belief to exist.
For example:
Water flows downhill.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
Birth and death are inevitable parts of life.
These are universal truths as we understand them, rooted in the physical laws and cycles of Earth. However, these truths do look different from other dimensional perspectives or in realms outside our own. What seems immutable here may shift entirely when viewed through the lens of a different reality—one not bound by the limitations of three-dimensional human experience.
Constructs, by contrast, are human-made systems that exist only because we collectively agree to follow them. They are frameworks we’ve created to bring order to our lives, like the calendar or the concept of money. The distinction matters because questioning a construct allows us to reshape it, while a universal truth simply is—within the context of this Earth-bound experience.
The Calendar: A Construct, Not a Truth
The Gregorian calendar, used by most of the world today, is a tool for organizing time, but it’s far from universal. Lunar calendars, like those in Islamic and Chinese cultures, operate differently, yet are just as effective. Ancient civilizations tracked time by the stars, while others aligned their calendars with agricultural cycles.
The truth is: time itself flows regardless of how we measure it. The calendar is a construct designed to impose order, but it’s not the only possible way to track time.
Provocative Constructs That Shape Society
Money: The Greatest Illusion
Money may feel like a universal truth, but it’s one of the most profound constructs humanity has ever created. At its core, money is a promise—a shared belief in value that enables trade. Historically, currencies were tied to tangible assets like gold or silver, but today, most of it exists as digital numbers in bank accounts, created out of thin air through mechanisms like loans.
If everyone stopped believing in a currency’s value, it would collapse overnight. History has shown that when trust in a currency erodes—due to factors like inflation or economic instability—its value can vanish almost instantly. In such situations, people often revert to bartering or turn to alternative currencies, demonstrating that money is only as real as the belief that sustains it.
This realization challenges us to reflect on the true nature of value: if something so foundational to our lives is upheld solely by collective agreement, what else might we accept as “real” simply because we believe in it? Money, at its core, is not wealth—it’s a placeholder, a shared story we’ve all agreed to act upon. Its power lies not in its physical form or intrinsic value, but in our willingness to treat it as meaningful.
When that shared belief falters, the construct collapses, revealing how fragile even the most ingrained systems can be. And yet, this fragility is also a form of power—it shows how human collaboration can create systems that organize entire societies, but also how those systems can be reshaped when we collectively decide to believe in something new.
The Workweek: A Made-Up Rhythm
The five-day workweek feels as natural as the sunrise, but it’s a relatively modern invention. During the Industrial Revolution, factory owners found it more efficient to organize labor into regular blocks of time. This system aligned with religious practices (Sunday as a day of rest) and later became standard in the 20th century.
But why should this rhythm define our lives today, in an age of automation and remote work? What if a three-day workweek could achieve the same productivity? What if work hours were flexible, allowing people to prioritize their health and creativity? These aren’t far-fetched ideas—they’re simply challenges to an outdated construct.
Success: The Construct of the "Good Life"
Why do we equate success with wealth, status, or specific career milestones? This construct is deeply tied to the rise of capitalism and industrial productivity. The “American Dream,” for instance, is a narrative built on acquiring material wealth—a house, a car, a steady job—but it often leaves people feeling unfulfilled.
More and more people are redefining success as something personal, tied to well-being, creativity, or community. By questioning the construct of success, we can escape the endless chase for things that don’t truly matter to us.
How Constructs Persist—and Collapse
Constructs are like invisible scaffolding—they hold up the systems we rely on, but their strength depends entirely on belief. Constructs persist when we collectively agree to uphold them, whether through compliance, habit, or fear of change. But the moment that belief falters, they can collapse as quickly as a house of cards.
How Constructs Persist
Constructs remain in place because they are embedded in our routines and reinforced by culture, tradition, and authority.
Daylight Saving Time: Originally introduced during World War I to conserve energy, daylight saving time is a perfect example of a construct that persists despite being outdated. Twice a year, people in the U.S. and many other countries adjust their clocks forward or back, even though studies show minimal energy savings today. Interestingly, not all countries observe DST—equatorial nations and places like China and Japan don’t participate. Yet in regions where it exists, it remains so ingrained that many people never question why it’s still necessary.
Time Zones: Created in the 19th century for train schedules, time zones were a practical solution for their time (pun intended). However, with today’s global connectivity, many argue they are increasingly irrelevant. Despite this, they persist because they’re embedded in everything from business hours to broadcasting schedules.
The Workweek: Most of us plan our lives around the five-day workweek, a structure designed for factory labor during the Industrial Revolution. Yet it’s been over a century since that era, and alternative work schedules—like four-day weeks—have shown equal or greater productivity. Still, the construct holds firm because it’s tied to laws, schools, and social norms.
These constructs endure because we rarely stop to ask, Why do we still do this? But they’re far from permanent.
When Constructs Collapse
Constructs collapse when belief in them erodes—when enough people decide they no longer serve a purpose. Here are a few relatable examples:
Currency Collapse: Imagine you have a $20 bill, and one day you go to a store, and no one accepts it. If enough people decide it has no value—whether because of inflation, distrust in the system, or an alternative currency—the money becomes worthless. This happens when belief in a currency’s value evaporates, and people revert to bartering or using alternative forms of trade.
Fashion Shifts:
Jeans, now a universal symbol of casual wear, were originally created as durable workwear for miners and laborers in the 19th century. At the time, they were considered strictly utilitarian. Today, they’re a staple in nearly every wardrobe, worn everywhere from farms to fashion runways. This evolution shows how constructs like “appropriate attire” can shift dramatically over time, shaped by social and cultural trends.
Technology Norms:
For thousands of years, the sundial was humanity’s primary method for tracking time. It was rooted in nature, relying on the movement of the sun, and worked perfectly for its context. With the advent of mechanical clocks in the 14th century, however, the concept of time itself shifted. Hours and minutes became rigidly structured, decoupled from natural cycles. Today, we live by the clock, scheduling our lives down to the minute. This transition shows how a new construct can redefine how we experience something as fundamental as time—bringing convenience but also pressure and rigidity.
Collapse often feels sudden, but it’s usually the result of years of questioning, resistance, and gradual change.
Just as constructs shape society and our daily lives, they also play a significant role in how we create. In art and creativity, constructs provide structure, but they can also become barriers. Breaking these frameworks can lead to entirely new ways of seeing and making—sparking innovation where rules once reigned.
How Constructs Bind Us Energetically
Constructs don’t just exist in the physical world—they shape our energy, our thoughts, and even our perception of reality. Life itself is energy, vibrating at different frequencies, and constructs act like invisible contracts, binding us to their framework. When we agree to a construct, whether consciously or not, we channel our energy into maintaining it, often without realizing the cost.
Energetic Binding in Everyday Life
Imagine being tethered to an invisible weight. You might feel free to move, but only within the limits that weight allows. Over time, the tether becomes so familiar you forget it’s even there—yet it still dictates the boundaries of your experience. This is how constructs operate energetically, shaping our mental and spiritual framework in ways that often go unnoticed.
Examples That Highlight the Impact
Time as a Construct:
Time, on the surface, is a tool for organizing our days. But being energetically bound to it creates stress, anxiety, and the constant feeling of “not enough.” It’s not just about schedules; it becomes an emotional weight.
For example: Someone who believes they’re “running out of time” to achieve success might funnel all their energy into chasing external goals, ignoring their deeper purpose. The construct of time, in this case, robs them of presence and creativity.
Money as Energy Exchange:
Money, at its essence, is a tool for transferring energy. It represents the time, effort, and resources we invest in something, allowing us to exchange that energy with others in a simplified way. When we spend money, we’re not just handing over cash—we’re transferring the energy we’ve stored through work, creativity, or effort, trading it for something we value in return.
But when we attach our self-worth to money, it creates a deep energetic bind. Instead of using money as a neutral tool, it becomes a measure of value that fuels cycles of scarcity or inadequacy.
For example: A person who believes they must accumulate wealth to be valued might sacrifice relationships, well-being, or creativity, all to feed an invisible construct that can never truly fulfill them.
Cultural Standards of Success:
Constructs around success trap people in mental loops of comparison and external validation. Energetically, they drain focus from internal growth and authentic joy.
For example: Someone who equates success with status or material possessions might never pursue their true calling, pouring their energy into maintaining a facade that doesn’t align with their soul.
Why This Matters: Life Is Energy
Life isn’t just physical—it’s deeply mental and energetic. Every thought, belief, and action generates vibrations that ripple outward, shaping the reality we live in. When we agree to constructs, we direct this energy toward maintaining systems that might not serve us. The cost isn’t just mental—it’s spiritual and emotional, pulling us further from our authentic selves.
Recognizing these energetic ties is the first step. The next is learning how to release them and redirect your energy toward what truly matters.
Reclaiming Your Energy by Disengaging
Breaking free from a construct isn’t simply about changing your habits—it’s about reclaiming your energy. When you name a construct and understand how it operates, you can choose to stop feeding it. This act of disengagement severs the energetic tie, freeing you to redirect that energy toward what truly matters.
For instance: Disengaging from the belief that your worth is tied to money doesn’t mean rejecting money altogether—it means shifting your focus to what genuinely fulfills you.
Or: Questioning the construct of time doesn’t mean ignoring schedules—it means experiencing life more fully in the present, rather than racing against an invisible clock.
A Comparison to Drive It Home
Think of constructs like filters placed over a light source. Your energy is the light, pure and unbounded. When you agree to a construct, it acts like a filter that shapes and directs that light, coloring how it’s expressed in the world.
For example, the construct of success might act as a filter that narrows your energy into specific forms: career achievements, material possessions, or social status. Over time, this filter can dim your light, confining you to a narrow expression of your potential. But when you question or remove the filter, your energy is free to shine in its full spectrum, illuminating paths and possibilities you couldn’t see before.
Disengaging from constructs isn’t about rejecting all systems or beliefs; it’s about identifying which filters serve you and which dim your light. By questioning these filters and the energy you’re investing in them, you open the door to living more intentionally, guided by choices that align with your own values rather than invisible rules.
Constructs in Creativity: Breaking to Innovate
Art and creativity thrive on constructs—but they also thrive on breaking them. Constructs often give us a starting point: rules about balance, rhythm, or form. But the most revolutionary work often emerges when artists deliberately step outside these boundaries, challenging the expectations those constructs create.
Rethinking Boundaries in Art
Consider the edges of a frame. Whether in photography, painting, or cinema, the frame traditionally dictates what’s included and what’s left out. But there are moments when the frame becomes part of the narrative itself—not as a limit, but as a question: What lies beyond this boundary? Exploring these edges, rather than centering on what’s inside them, invites viewers to reconsider the construct of "completeness" in an image.
Time as a Creative Construct
Photography is often described as capturing a moment, but even this is a construct. What defines a “moment”? In some of my work with large-format film, the time it takes to prepare and expose a single frame challenges the immediacy of modern photography. The image isn’t an instant—it’s the culmination of time, patience, and deliberate thought. Long exposure techniques further blur this line, turning fleeting moments into layered, abstract expressions of motion and memory.
The Power of Absence
Sometimes, breaking a construct is about what’s left out rather than what’s included. Negative space in a composition, silence in music, or pauses in a story all defy the expectation that every inch must be filled. These absences create tension, inviting the viewer or listener to fill in the gaps with their own imagination. The construct of “more is better” collapses, replaced by something quieter, more profound.
Constructs as Foundations, Not Cages
The beauty of constructs in creativity is that they’re tools, not cages. They provide structure when needed but can be dismantled or rebuilt entirely when they no longer serve the work. Breaking constructs isn’t about chaos—it’s about freedom, about finding new ways to create that feel alive and intentional.
What construct are you ready to question today? You might find that breaking a rule—or even just bending it—opens the door to something extraordinary. Whether it’s redefining success, rethinking how you spend your time, or breaking creative norms, even small shifts in perspective can lead to meaningful changes. Sometimes, all it takes is a single question to spark a new way of seeing the world—and yourself.
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