THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

On our life journey, we will face many challenges.  Some may be easy to overcome; others may test every fiber of our being in attempting to overcome them.  And then there are those that seem so overwhelming that we become paralyzed and unable to do anything.  We need to be careful of anything that paralyzes us because as Edwin Lewis Cole (founder of the Christian Men’s Network) shares, “You don’t drown by falling in the water.  You drown by staying there.”  This sage advice is a great reminder that it isn’t our challenges that defeat us (falling in the water), but rather our inability to come up with an unconventional, unique, resourceful, divergent solution to the challenge (just staying put in the water).

When faced with a challenge that seems insurmountable, we need to tap into our ingenious self so we can be inventive, creative, and divergent in coming up with a way, with a solution, to move us “out of the water.”   Thinking outside the box is a way to think differently; to think unconventionally, creatively, and divergently.  Thoughts outside the box help us view things from a different perspective.  If we view challenges in traditional ways, we might easily give up dealing with the challenge if we get the least bit overwhelmed.   Often when we “climb out of the box,” we are able to see more; many possible solutions or directions may emerge.  It is definitely easier to put things into a different perspective when our view isn’t the “same four walls.”

The following story is a wonderful example of how outside the box thinking helped in dealing with what seemed to be an impossible situation:

In a small Italian town, hundreds of years ago, a small business owner owed a large sum of money to a loan-shark. The loan-shark was a very old, unattractive-looking guy that just so happened to fancy the business owner’s daughter.  He decided to offer the businessman a deal that would completely wipe out the debt he owed him. However, the catch was that we would only wipe out the debt if he could marry the businessman’s daughter.  Needless to say, this proposal was met with a look of disgust.

The loan-shark said that he would place two pebbles into a bag, one white and one black.  The daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick out a pebble. If it was black, the debt would be wiped, but the loan-shark would then marry her. If it was white, the debt would also be wiped, but the daughter wouldn’t have to marry the loan-shark.

Standing on a pebble-strewn path in the businessman’s garden, the loan-shark bent over and picked up two pebbles.  While he was picking them up, the daughter noticed that he’d picked up two black pebbles and placed them both into the bag.  He then asked the daughter to reach into the bag and pick one.

The daughter naturally had three choices as to what she could have done:

1. Refuse to pick a pebble from the bag.
2. Take both pebbles out of the bag and expose the loan-shark for cheating.
3. Pick a pebble from the bag fully well knowing it was black and sacrifice herself for her father’s freedom.

She drew out a pebble from the bag, and before looking at it ‘accidentally’ dropped it into the midst of the other pebbles. She said to the loan-shark, “Oh, how clumsy of me. Never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

The pebble left in the bag is obviously black, and seeing as the loan-shark didn’t want to be exposed, he had to play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white, and clear her father’s debt.

This story illustrates how is it possible to overcome a challenge, a tough situation, using out-of-the box thinking rather than give in to the only options we think we have to pick from.  So, on our life journey, the next time a challenge crosses our path, we need to pause and strategize by:

PRACTICING KALEIDOSCOPIC THINKING.  Take all the pieces for the situation and play with arranging them in different configurations.

PUTTING ON A CRITICAL THINKING CAP.  When one thinks critically, the situation is analytically evaluated.  This helps with bringing out different points of view related to the situation.

USING ‘PARACHUTE THINKING.’  Parachutes only work when they are open. In using out-of-the-box thinking, keep an open mind and be willing to change it based on a range of options.

GIVING OURSELVES THE ‘THIRD DEGREE.’  Ask:  Is there another way to get what I want?  Is the desired result really the best result?  Who else has information that might help me?  What is something very similar to what I need that might also work?  Who is the expert in this area?  What is one more thing I can try?  Is there more than one way to look at or deal with the issue?  What would someone I admire do in this same situation?

CREATING A MIND MAP.  This is a diagram that visually outlines thoughts.  A single word is placed in the center (the challenge we are facing).  Feelings, thoughts, ideas, and ways to deal with the issue are written as offshoots from the center.  This is a nice way to organize and summarize thoughts.  Sometimes a solution to an issue clearly emerges from this process.

Thinking outside the box is a way of thinking that questions and challenges prevailing thought and opens us up to numerous solutions rather than just the way something has always been done.   When we think outside the box, we are creative; we use our imagination.  Outside the box thinking may be just what it takes to propel us beyond the challenge, just as it did the businessman’s daughter in the story.  So, when facing a challenge in 2020, take some time to do a little out-of-the-box thinking in coming up with a way to overcome the challenge.

WHY CHANGE REQUIRES A NEW STYLE OF THINKING

Last week, we began a series on different types of thinking that can help us deal with change in a positive manner. Our topic last week was irreverent thinking. This week, we will discuss what I call ‘a new style of thinking.’ In watching an episode of the old TV show JAG this week, one of the JAG lawyers was advised by the Judge Advocate General to think outside the box to bring a positive resolution to a ‘sticky’ situation. Thinking outside the box is exactly what is needed when we use a new style of thinking. Here’s why.

Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” When change and transition happen, something becomes different. Sometimes the differences are minor and present no need to alter the way of doing things or thinking (someone repaints a room in their home). Sometimes the differences are major (car breaks down and needs a big-time, costly repair) causing us to make a quick decision, but one that could have a long-term effect (on family, budget, transportation needs). And, other times the differences are seismic (finding one suddenly single or finding one out of a job) creating the need to overhaul how things are done, how one thinks, or how decisions are made. When we are in the midst of an overhaul or decision making that may have a long-term effect, doing so with the ‘old way of thinking’ may not result in a satisfactory outcome. Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” So, in an overhaul or a quick decision situation, a new style of thinking may be required to prevent us from appearing (or going) insane.

The strategy of new style of thinking presents a method of decision making that goes beyond the conventional; the ‘same old, same old.’ Please note that there is nothing wrong with conventional ways of doing things or making decisions when in a status quo situation. But, when faced with change and transition that present major differences, what worked in the old may not work in the new. In a changed environment, when we start “getting down on ourselves” because things just aren’t working out, they may not be working out because we are doing what Anthony Robbins indicates, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

Losing weight may be a goal, but eating and exercise habits remain the same. Saving money is a goal, but style of spending remains the same. Trimming the budget at work is desired, but staffing and services don’t change. Demands at work are increasing, but there are still only 24 hours in a day. In these situations, we are not going to get desired results by perpetuating the ‘same’ or by just working harder. We must work and think smarter; work and think differently.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter (is a professor of business at Harvard Business School, where she holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship; she is also director and chair of the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative) once nominated the kaleidoscope as a symbol companies should use for the global information era because it symbolized ever-changing patterns and endless new possibilities, both of which are guided by the human imagination. Kanter’s kaleidoscopic thinking provides a wonderful model for a new style of thinking; for thinking and approaching decision making differently especially when dealing with change or needing to create change. She says, “Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility.” The notion of forming new patterns from existing information or resources is so simple, yet something we might not normally consider doing.

Viewing things from a new angle is important when attempting to successfully navigate the seas of change. Remember, if we want the end result to be different, our actions and decisions must also be different. However, the difference may come about by doing something as simple as tweaking what we already have. (One time, I was trying to reorganize items under the kitchen sink to better use the space. I wanted to put plastic grocery bags in a storage unit drawer, but the unit took up too much space when I placed it on its bottom. However, when I turned it on its side, it fit beautifully.)

OK. I can hear you saying, “Becky, this makes sense, but how do I go about developing a new style of thinking?” Here are a few techniques:

1.  Practice kaleidoscopic thinking. Take all the pieces for the situation (write out the pieces on index cards) and play with arranging them in different configurations.

2. Put on the critical thinking cap. When one thinks critically, the situation is analytically evaluated. This helps with bringing out different points of view related to the situation. Challenge and analyze what the motivation for doing something is, what thought processes are being used in the decision making, and what conclusions are being derived. Use reflection throughout the analysis. Ask: Could I be wrong? What assumptions am I making? Are the assumptions correct? Are there other explanations? Other perspectives? Other viewpoints? Seek out evidence to support ideas, beliefs, and conclusions.

 

3. Use the ‘challenge card.’ Reflect on the points of view, statements, claims, arguments. Can weaknesses in each be identified? If so, what does that do to the situation? Are other explanations possible?

 

 

4. Practice ‘parachute thinking.’ Parachutes only work when they are open. In using a new style of thinking, keep an open mind and be willing to change it based on the evidence. Ask what it would take to create a mindset change.

5. Gain a fresh perspective. Visit someone or someplace to experience something different from the norm. This may provide new ideas or a way of taking the ‘kaleidoscopic piece’ of one’s life and helping with the rearrangement. Talk to someone who has a totally different point of view on the issue or situation. (Think of the story of the blind men and the elephant. Depending on what part of the elephant was touched, the perspective on what the elephant was like, differed. Look at the pieces of the situation in this manner to help gain other perspectives.)

When we find ourselves in a situation where conventional thinking or actions just aren’t doing the trick, remember Einstein’s advice (we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them) and switch to a new style of thinking. Adopt the kaleidoscope as your model for the new style of thinking and keep rearranging the pieces of your situation to come up with a new, different, and workable solution.