I was struggling with something on a recent walk back from the pet store. Despite living in Amsterdam for nearly 2 years, I do not have a regular bike. I have a road bike that I store off the street, but to use it requires me to carry it down several flights of stairs.

I walked past at least two bike shops on my way to the pet store, and every time, for months, I think “I should just walk into that store and buy a bike finally”. Of course my brain loves nothing more than to argue with itself, and so I think “well I work from home mostly, and all of our errands are within a 10 minute walk of our place so it’s really not that big of a deal”. I enjoy walking in the city, and I don’t necessarily care about the few minutes it would shave off of my errands every month.

I find myself weighing the pros and cons instantly, trying to judge the frequency of which I would actually use a bike, what tools I might need to fix and maintain it, or whether or not I should get insurance on the bike. A mental exercise that I have performed in my head countless times. Eventually I get tired of thinking about it and drop it all together, only to be reminded of it the next time I walk past a bike shop.

Usually, I’m quite pragmatic and decisive, I don’t necessarily like having unknowns in my life so I think this is just a way that my brain likes to make friction where there’s none. In a way, I think it’s just my mind’s version of day dreaming, arguing with myself is something I like to do when I’m bored, like solving a crossword puzzle or sudoku. It’s probably why I enjoy being an engineer, dealing with friction is a core aspect of the profession.

Setting aside my trivial bike purchasing dilemma, friction in our daily lives is often written off as something to be solved. Products to solve a solution, eliminating friction for the consumer and stream lining one’s life. Friction is pitched as a problem looking for a solution.

Friction, while often detrimental, can provide us with something more valuable in the long run, a direction. I think about the own friction in my life, both good and bad. It all provides me with some important feedback that I can use to recalibrate and refine my own cognition. Friction allows us to outline the shape of the problems we face. The pain points of a specific tool or software lends itself to potential solutions. Ideological friction can shut down conversations, or it can allow compromise. Assuming some friction will always be present prepares one for a more realistic outcome, nearly everything requires some energy to overcome.

Used intentionally, friction can be a positive force. Putting your phone on airplane mode to focus and get some work done by introducing additional friction. Designing a specific ball bearing in an assembly to wear out first, because it’s safer and easier to replace than other bearings. Allowing some form of friction that eats energy in a sacrificial manner to save other components from wearing out. Friction helps us get keep our bearings.

No this hasn’t inspired me to overcome my own friction regarding the bike, but it’s provided an interesting insight into how my own mind creates friction out of thin air and how I overcome friction in the long run.

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