Do you ever feel stuck in a rut? Like your ideas are always the same? It’s a common problem. Many people struggle to think creatively, even when asked to. Thinking “outside the box” can be hard, but it’s a skill you can learn.
Why Break Free?
Inside our comfort zones, we feel secure. We agree with everyone else. Stepping outside means risking our reputations. We’ve worked hard to build them, so why risk it?
But in today’s world, creative thinking isn’t a luxury. It’s a must. We all have access to the same information. What makes you different? What makes you stand out? It’s what you create with that information. Creative thinking is about protecting what makes you a unique human being.
What “Box” Are We Talking About?
We’re not talking about your mind itself. We’re talking about the boundaries within your mind. It’s the line between what you know and what you haven’t thought about yet.
Think of your mind as a complex system. It starts with your genes and your surroundings. You learn from school and from others’ experiences. You also learn from your own successes and failures. All of this builds your knowledge. This knowledge is the “box” we live in. Anything outside that box seems invisible and risky.
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How Do You Get Out?
How can you think differently? Do you need a sudden stroke of luck? Or are there ways to learn to be creative?
The world is full of things to see and experience. When we focus on a problem, we tend to have set ideas about how things should be. But to think outside the box, you need to add something unexpected. You need something that seems wrong, absurd, or not relevant.
This is called divergent information. It helps you cross the borders of your mind. It takes you from what you know to what you haven’t thought about.
When you step outside the box, you might feel lost. It’s like being in the middle of a chess game. You have no set direction. You might want to go back to your safe place. But you need to resist that temptation.
Value Long Thinking
Instead of fast thinking, try long thinking. This means letting your thoughts wander. Don’t judge every single idea. Look at the big picture. You can use:
- Association of ideas: Connect different thoughts.
- Combination of ideas: Put ideas together.
- Extraction of principles: Find the main ideas.
- Application of principles: Use those ideas in new ways.
Be open-minded. Look for many possibilities, not just one right answer. There is no single correct answer when you think creatively.
What if You Have a New Idea?
What if you come up with a new idea while exploring outside the box? How do you know if it’s well?
It’s hard to judge something that’s never been seen before. It’s like landing on a new planet. You might not feel like you have the right to invent something new. You might think someone else has already thought of it. These thoughts can kill your ideas. Resist those thoughts!
Look for how the new idea fits with what you were trying to do. Or, see if the idea solves a different problem. Sometimes, you find good things by accident. You just need to be able to see them.
How Does This Affect Your Workplace?
Thinking outside the box can challenge the people around you. When is it okay to challenge your work environment?
If your workplace punishes mistakes, you’ll never want to take risks. You’ll stay in your safe zone. To encourage creativity, you need to allow for different ideas. You need to let irrelevant information come in. Mix different subjects and use metaphors. This will make your workplace more open to new ideas.
Experiment: Let’s Get Creative
Let’s try a quick experiment. Let’s say you want to come up with new ideas for TEDx Conferences. Start with what you already know. What makes a good TEDx conference?
- Good speakers
- A great theme
- Fast transitions between speakers
- A grand setting
This is all common knowledge. You’re still inside the box.
Now, let’s add something unexpected to one of these elements. Take the “grand setting.” What if you made it extreme? Instead of a theater, what about a stadium?
Does that make sense? It would be hard to organize and fill the stadium. You might want to reject the idea.
But what if the stadium was already full? Then you could have a TEDx Conference at halftime of a football game! Good idea? Bad idea? That’s for you to decide.
Let’s try another one. Good speakers are very important. What if you got rid of them? That sounds crazy!
But what if you didn’t need the speakers, just their speeches? Then you could have one speaker give someone else’s speech. It would be a cooperative TEDx Conference. Maybe you could have duets on stage. This would remove ego from the equation.
These are just examples. But they show you that it’s possible to think outside the box. It’s not as hard as you think.
Ready to Think Creatively?
Thinking outside the box is essential for staying relevant and unique. Don’t be afraid to challenge the norm, embrace divergent thinking, and explore new possibilities.
Take the first step towards unlocking your creative potential today!
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