subject: Learn How To Think Outside Of The Box [print this page] The term, think outside of the box, is a very popular term these days. We hear it used an awful lot but Im not sure if most of the people who use it really understand what it means.
We are all by our human nature locked up in many different boxes. Each box represents different aspects of our lives. We are locked up in the box for each and every particular problem that we face or task that we perform. For example, is there a better way for you to take a shower, or how about to brush your teeth? Do you always drive to work via the shortest route? Do you know for a fact that it is the fastest route? We can go on and on with this line but I think that you get my drift. There are so many adjustments that we have to make in life that you can never let your guard down.
We as parents must of necessity impose limits on our children for their own safety if we love them and dont want to see them harmed. We must also place limits on their behavior so that they know what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. When we do so we limit their imagination and we institutionalize them to a degree. We must be able to train them at the same time to think and operate beyond self imposed limits. We are our own biggest problem in that we limit our thinking to traditional ways. Now this is good most of the time but we have to be able to think outside of the box not only in special circumstances but as a matter of routine.
I for one am a believer that there is no problem which does not have a solution. The real problem and the thing that stops us is that we often just fail to see the answer. I am of the opinion that many have lost out because they were not able to find a simple solution to a problem.
There is a time to be practical and a time to be creative. The creative person will find the solution to a problem and the practical person will implement the answer.
As a young man I was very atheletic. I could normally win sports events that I competed in by strength, speed, and agility alone. As I became older I found that my body was not able to handle all of the requirements that I put on it in the past and I could not always win by physical ability alone. It was then that I learned to rely on my intellect to make being atheletic easier. I learned the advantage of getting into the best possible position to make a play rather than out running or out muscling your opponent. I learned how to psych out my opponent or to distract him in order to win. If I had learned these things earlier and applied them I would have been a much better athelete and no doubt more accomplished. My own ability had me locked up in a box. The only way that I escaped from it was when I could no longer rely on my physical abilities.
Remember that you have to implement your new and brilliant ideas now that you will exercise this new ability. The best idea in the world is no good if you dont apply it and make it work.
After you have come up with your idea you must visualize and believe that it will work. If your application is half hearted the idea wont work at all. You must fully commit to its implementation. The karate student who is breaking wood cant decide to let up in the middle of his swing. He or she has to know that they can break it and hit it hard with enough force that it will. So must you when you are striving to win. Riceland Enterprises
