Thinking outside the box is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. It means approaching problems in new, innovative ways; conceptualizing problems differently; and understanding your position in relation to any particular situation in a way you’d never thought of before.
10 Ways to Push Yourself to Think Outside the Box
1. How to Question the Status Quo Regularly
Since childhood, we are bombarded with systems of doing things. We are told that we should go to school, work hard, get good grades, go the college, and get that dream job. Education is essential, but what’s more important is that sometimes you need to question the norm. Question the status quo regularly. Make nonconformity the expected conversation. Ask “Why?” “How might we…?” and “What if…? Now Put all apparent conflicting issues side by side and then begin to solve for them as a team. Ask why do you have certain traditions at your workplace.
2. Mind mapping
Mind map is a technic that allows you to map out an idea. Fundamentally, you have the “central concept” in the middle of the map and then expand the idea outwards in different boxes. It will help you to think of all the possibilities along with their outcomes.
3. Think Like a Competitor
Thinking like a competitor in a business is extremely beneficial. For this exercise, ask yourself to feel like a competitor. By pointing out some of the weaknesses you see in the company and possible solutions for the problems. You can also get ideas for new trends in the industry.
4. Take a wider perspective and oscillate between uncommon content
Breakthrough meditation and creativity often come from making exceptional connections. Keep widening the lens aperture to take in different and broader perspectives that could make sense.
5. Draw a picture as a team
Visualize the problem you are facing and bring images to help you solve it. With a model, you can map out all the aspects of your issues and write down solutions to each element. For instance, you have different bills to pay, and all have different deadlines. You can draw a box for all the bills you have to pay along with the dates. You can also create a visual image of what the box means for you.
6. Write a poem
Most of the time, problem-solving bolster heavily on our brain’s logical centers, poetry neatly bridges our more rational left-brain though processes and our more creative right-brain processes. Though it may feel foolish, try to writing a poem about the problem you’re working on.
7. Earn an advice from a child
I don’t buy into the notion that children are inherently or creative before society “ruins” them, but sometimes a child can teach us a very good lesson which can help us. Ask them how they might tackle a problem.
8. Take a shower.
There’s some kind of weird psychic link between showering and creativity.But why? How? Think so it’s because your mind is on other things, maybe it’s because you’re naked, maybe it’s the warm water relaxing you.
9. Work backwards
It breaks the brain’s normal conception of causality. This is the key to backwards planning.
10. Learn about another religion.
Religions are the line that humans organize and understand their relationships not only with the supernatural or divine but with each other. Knowing about how such relations are structured can teach you a lot about how people relate to each other and the world around them.