The phrase “think out of the box” is rather familiar than strange as it’s been frequently used in various occasions. Team leads will constantly use this phrase to encourage participation from its’ members. Several inspirational and motivational speakers also find themselves using this phrase in their speeches. When used, this term is often targeted towards getting people to think away from a particular thought pattern or to get them see and do things differently from the way they have been doing before. But what does it really mean to “think out of the box” and what can anyone do to finally say he’s currently thinking out of the box?
Victor: Hello Sam.
Sam: How re you doing Vic?
Victor: I’m fine, how are you?
Sam: I’m great.
Victor: I’ve got a question that I’ve been pondering on for a while now.
Sam: Okay Vic. You can ask, I can’t assure you that I’ll be able to answer it, but I’ll give it my best shot!
They both smile
Victor: How to think out of the box?
Sam: Huh?
Victor: Lol, okay. How can someone think out of the box? Coach Stephen kept using that phrase yesterday when he was telling me that all my dribbles were easily predicted by the opponent’s defense. So yeah, how can I think out of the box?
Hypothetical look on Sam’s face
Sam: By being in a circle…
Two seconds of silence and they both laugh hysterically afterwards…
It’s funny yeah? How on earth did Sam come up with such an answer? Well, as funny and baseless as Sam’s answer would seem, it has a great element of truth. Boxes have four-ends, circles have no end. So basically, if you’re in a box, it simply means there’s an end to what you can achieve. While being in a circle makes your achievements endless and continuous.
Could this be the reason why the phrase “think out of the box” has always been used? Well, Sam’s answer may not be factual, but there’s certainly a very important lesson to learn from his analogy.
Being in a box restrains your thoughts, creativity, and productivity to a certain extent. As global changemakers, we may have to consciously start taking measures to break out from such situations. A circle being endless in shape opens one up to endless ideas and opportunities, this makes it easier to create solutions to problems and make inventions that will make the world a step closer to being a better place.
One may be tempted to ask; how can I be in a circle? Well, we are all in a circle, either consciously or unconsciously. The questions we may consider asking are, Is my circle still a circle? Or has it turned into a box? Does it open me up to new ideas? Or do I still think the way I used to when I’m around members of my circle? So, let’s look at 3 BASIC BUT EFFECTIVE WAYS TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX!
MAKING NEW FRIENDS: New friends opens one to new thought patterns, new approaches to life, new philosophies, and ideologies of how things work. Making new friends, especially when they are creative and hardworking people, can greatly influence one’s way of reasoning and cause anyone to start thinking out of the box they have put themselves in.
MOVING TO A NEW CITY: Like making new friends, moving to a new city opens one up to even wider opportunities to think out of the box. New cities are filled with people, events, and activities that are different from the ones we are used to. This fresh change could just be the needed spark to change or develop our thinking patterns and thus, help us think out of the box.
TRYING A NEW TASK: Especially in areas where we would be required to learn a thing or more, trying new tasks can be very instrumental to improving our thinking patterns.
The keyword here is “NEW’. As the popular saying goes, you can’t be doing the same thing in the same way and be expecting a different result. So be it FRIENDS, CITY, or TASK, it should possess an element of newness. What part of this article did you like best? Leave a reply in the comment section. Got more ways on how to think out of the box? Let’s hear it.
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