Early on in my design career, I thought about ways of “reducing friction” as if friction was an inherently bad thing. “There’s too much friction.” “How can we get rid of some of this friction?” Admittedly, friction is a problem in lots of cases.

But I’ve come to realize that friction isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, it’s often a great thing.

In your pocket you carry a keychain, because you lock your door when you leave the house. That’s friction: you’re making it more difficult for a total stranger to easily walk into your house.

The reason you have to brake your car at a stop sign or a red light is also friction: you temporarily inconvenience yourself instead of mindlessly zooming through an intersection so that you minimize the chance of a collision. You get a benefit - safety - from this self-imposed friction.

Good friction confers benefits. You exercise (muscular friction) for the health benefits. You study (mental friction) for the educational benefits. You work (economic friction) for the monetary benefits.

When there’s too little friction in your life, you run the risk of losing out on the benefits that come with it. If you’re not careful, it might make you an under-developed, unhappy person. That’s a price too high to pay.

Next time you encounter something that’s “too easy”, ask yourself why is it so easy? Who might benefit from this being so easy? Should it be this easy? If it doesn’t need to be, how would you benefit from a little more healthy friction?