Understanding Mindset Constraints — the Hidden Reason You Feel Stuck

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re feeling a bit stuck right now. Most likely, you’re smart, capable, and you’ve been working hard, trying everything you know,  and yet … progress feels slow, unclear, or just out of reach. Feeling stuck in this way is deeply frustrating, especially when, logically, you would really like to achieve your goal or have tried many solutions. It makes it so easy to start to wonder: Why can’t I move forward? What am I missing?

The answer often isn’t about willpower, luck, or information. Instead, it lives beneath the surface of your thinking — in what I call mindset constraints. When you uncover your often invisible mindset constraints, internal rules shaping what feels possible or impossible, you’ll gain a new, clearer perspective on what’s really going on—and how to begin shifting your thinking to make progress towards your goals.

In this post, we’ll explore:

• What mindset constraints are and why they’re so important
• How they create a “feasible region” shaping your possibilities
• Why feeling stuck often means your goals lie outside that feasible region
• How mindset engineering offers a compassionate, precise way to shift those constraints
• Practical resources to start noticing and gently adjusting your mindset constraints today

What Are Mindset Constraints?

Let’s start with a simple definition: Mindset constraints are the internal rules, beliefs, assumptions, fears, and identity factors that shape what feels possible and acceptable in your life.

The phrase mindset constraints comes from my background in engineering and mathematical optimization. In those fields, every problem has constraints — limits or conditions that define what solutions are possible. The set of solutions satisfying all constraints is called the feasible region. I developed the phrase mindset constraints when I realized that the same type of thinking that helps craft and solve mathematical problems can be used to help us solve the mindset “problems” we have that keep us from our goals.

If that feels a bit abstract, think of your mindset constraints like a fence around a garden. The shape created the fence marking where plants are allowed to grow.

Your mindset constraints are like those fences. They create the boundaries of your personal feasible region, the mental space where your goals feel achievable and realistic.

An important point to notice: mindset constraints are not fixed. They’re adjustable, like the lines of a problem you can erase and redraw as reality and your thinking evolve. This flexibility is what makes mindset constraints a practical and hopeful framework — you’re not stuck with your existing mindset feasible region forever. Instead, you can approach your mindset constraints like an engineer or puzzle-solver, continuously tuning your internal rules to fit your evolving life and goals.

For example, many people believe, “I have to work long hours to be successful.” Whether they’re aware of it or not, this mindset constraint shapes the actions they take and the goals they achieve.

Why Mindset Constraints Matter — The Root Cause of Feeling Stuck

Mindset constraints matter deeply because they define your feasible region — the set of outcomes and steps your mind considers possible.

When your goals lie within this region, you feel energized, confident, and capable. Things flow. You take intentional action and see progress.

But when your goals or aspirations sit outside your feasible region, that’s when you feel stuck.

You might recognize this as:

• Taking action but feeling like you’re spinning your wheels without real progress
• Knowing what needs to be done but unable to begin
• Feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, paralyzed, or exhausted despite your desire to move forward
  

The important truth here is — being stuck is not about laziness, lack of talent, or failure. It’s about a mismatch between the feasible region created by your mindset constraints and your goal.

Let’s return to the earlier example of the mindset constraint: “I have to work long hours to be successful.” This belief restricts the feasible region by shaping what actions and goals feel attainable. Someone holding this constraint may find themselves trapped in cycles of exhaustion, overwhelm, and burnout — pushing relentlessly toward their goals while overlooking opportunities to rest, recharge, or streamline, delegate, and automate their work.

Here’s another example: the mindset constraint “I’m not good at networking.” This belief narrows the feasible region by preventing the person from taking steps to build meaningful connections within their industry, causing them to miss opportunities that could open doors and accelerate their career growth.

If someone has either of these mindset constraints and sets a goal that falls outside what those constraints allow like:

•  wanting more time with family and friends while believing “I have to work long hours to be successful,” or
• aiming to climb the corporate ladder but feeling “I’m not good at networking”,

these constraints block them from reaching their goal. To make those goals a reality, they need to shift their mindset constraints and expand their feasible region.

How Mindset Engineering Helps You Shift Constraints

Enter mindset engineering — my process for applying precise, analytical thinking combined with compassion to uncover and shift mindset constraints.

Mindset engineering is not a quick fix or a magic switch. It’s a thoughtful journey that invites you to:

1. Identify the mindset constraints shaping your feasible region
2. Approach each of these constraints with curiosity and kindness — gently questioning whether they’re helping or holding you back from reaching your goal, without judgment.
3. Reframe or relax these constraints with well-engineered affirmations
4. Take action inspired by your new feasible region and make progress towards your goals (and repeat as needed)

This approach offers you more control, clarity, and empowerment over your mental landscape, turning feeling stuck into movement and possibility.

Feeling stuck isn’t a personal failure — it’s an invitation to notice and begin shifting those constraints and mindset engineering can help you find a path forward.

To get started, I invite you to watch my video Get Clear on Why You Are Stuck (An Unconventional Approach from a PhD Engineer), where I share practical examples to help you understand how mindset constraints make you stuck and how to move forward.

If you know your goal and want personalized insight on your unique mindset constraints and support to identify new pathways forward, I encourage you to get your personalized Get Unstuck Mindset Map.

If you’d like help getting crystal clear on your goal by identifying what’s truly necessary and sufficient to call it a success. I recommend checking out my free tool, Spec It Out, to gain clarity and define your path forward.

And if you’re looking for community, conversations, and shared journeys, I invite you to join r/SmartCapableStuck, where fellow smart, capable people explore mindset shifts, get unstuck and support each other.