If you're not doing this, you are wrong

 10 WAYS TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

We’re told to “think outside the box” all the time, but how exactly do we do that? How do we develop the ability to confront problems in ways other than in ways we normally confront problems? How do we cultivate the ability to look at things differently from the way we typically look at things? Here are 11 ways to beef up your out-of-the-box thinking skills. Make an effort to push your thinking up to and beyond its limit every now and again

1.       Draw a picture

Visualizing a problem engages other modes of thinking that we don’t normally use, bringing you another creative boost.

2.       Turn it upside down

Turning something upside down, whether physically by flipping a piece of paper around or metaphorically by re-imagining it can help you see patterns that wouldn’t otherwise be apparent. Changing the orientation of things can hide the more obvious patterns and make other patterns emerge.

3.       Invite randomness

Embracing mistakes and incorporating them into your projects, developing strategies that allow for random input, working amid chaotic juxtapositions of sound and form – all of these can help to move beyond everyday patterns of thinking into the sublime.

4.       Work backwards

Just like turning a thing upside down, working backwards breaks the brain’s normal conception of causality. This is the key to backwards planning, for example, where you to start with a goal and think back through the steps needed to reach it until you get to where you are right now.

5.       Learn the terms

If you’re familiar with the terms, you’ll be in a great position to do some research into out-of-the-box thinking.

6.       Learn what inhibits you

The following charecteristics lessen your ability to make a positive change in your thinking methods:

·         Negative attitude

·         Fear of failure, perfectionism

·         Executive stress, or other stress

·         Following rules, hidebound to black and white thinking (not flexible, unable to perceive the value in grey areas)

7.       Challenge assumptions

Just because it has always been that way doesn’t mean that it has to continue that way. Some ways to challenge assumptions include:

·         Ask questions

·         Don’t be hasty to draw conclusions

8.       Break free of dull routine

·         Just because it has always been that way doesn’t mean that it has to continue to be that way

9.       Brainstorm

Brainstorming can do amazing things to help you think outside the box. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

·         Do brain teasers/ puzzles, tests etc and challenge your brain to new ways of doing and seeing things.

·         If you hated Math, English or Science, try it again; this time make yourself do it well. Force your mind to think down different pathways

·         Learn a new language, a new way of keeping inventory, a new way to be a great boss or lover.

10.   Take your vacations

The refreshed you is worth infinitely more to the company than the worn-out and irritable, in-a-rut you.