HOW TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX

By: Princy Narang

Engaginglifethoughts.blogspot.com

Nowadays you often hear that think out of the box mostly by your teachers, boss etc. in order to find solutions to various assignments, problems or projects. But what does it mean to think out of the box?

Thinking out of the box actually means to think creatively, freely, from all the angles, with an open mind, from an entirely different perspective and even think of the most unusual solution if possible. This out of the box thinking helps in providing the most innovative and creative solutions available. It actually involves looking at the problem from different angles and understand it in a different manner than usual. It also means to leave behind your already learned experiences and old mindsets and then to consider the problem in the most atypical manner. Even there is famous quote by Avijeet Das that, “The way we look at a problem can help us solve half of the problem itself”.

But the question is that how can you incorporate the skill to visualize the problem from different possible angles other than the usual and even to think differently and creatively? Also how can you push your thinking beyond your usual limit?

So let us go through the ways given below which will help you to inculcate the art of thinking out of the box:

• By the way of brainstorming: this will help in generating multiple ideas for a single problem. There is no restriction regarding the kind of idea. Brainstorming includes each and every idea that is generated and it appreciates the concept of the more the merrier. This process will help in collecting all the possible solutions which many a times is helpful in selecting most creative and unusual idea possible.
• Reading a lot of material as it will help in increasing a person’s creativity and power of imagination
• Draining out all the negativity and visualizing everything with a positive attitude also helps in thinking from a positive outlook and thus initiates a positive problem solving thought process. 
• Follow your creative passions/ hobbies like writing poems, drawing, painting, sketching, dancing or even listening to music because this helps in enhancing your creative thinking and imaginations.
• Dreams help a person to imagine and look at any situation with a very dreamy and desirable perspective. Even day dreaming has a similar effect.
• If you are struck and can’t think differently leave the problem and go for a walk and try to enjoy the beauty of the nature. This will help in filling your mind and body with great energy and freshness and thus help in the process of imagination and thinking.
• Take a shower to break the monotony of continuous observation of problem and looking for some different solution. Also it helps in flow of freshness into the body and thus provide some power to imagine all the over again.
• Change your usual place of work: like go on outing, go to canteen or for coffee and take a break. This will help you to think more creatively because changing place makes you encounter different scenarios which provokes your brain to think more differently.
• Read altogether different book not related to what your problem is or not even related to out of box thinking or any novel other than which you like. Even learning a new skill or new language can help you come up with solutions which you wouldn’t have got remaining in the same field.
• Walk backwards from the solution instead of trying to reach a solution as it will help in providing a very different outlook towards the present scenario.
• Even turning the problem other-way round or upside down (reframing the problem): this can be done by trying to draw a picture of the problem and then turning the page upside down will help in looking at the problem from an atypical viewpoint.
• Socialise with creative people and try to appreciate their viewpoint or read or gather knowledge about other artists, scientists, innovator etc and try to understand their thinking and study about their ideas and creativity.
• Be spontaneous: do things which are beyond your time table or take part in games and puzzles which help in increasing your spontaneity. As it will ensure that you easily adapt to various situations easily and overcome them.
• Be a good listener: Develop the art of listening to what others are saying as this will help you in knowing the problem better and also help you in looking for solutions with a different outlook. Keep your ears open to everyone who may or may not be associated with the problem because many a times you get an idea from a person whom you considered of least importance.
• Observe kids around and look for the solutions the way the kids tackle their own problems. You can even redesign your problem in way that even a kid can understand it and then think how a kid would have thought about it. This will help you to come out with weird but many a times a very effective solution which others cannot even think.
• Play various word games (such as crossword and jumbled words), quizzes, number games or even dumb charades etc. This increases your spontaneity, creativity, imagining power and problem solving ability and coming up with variety of solutions.
• Never ever believe that the problem cannot be solved: as it will restrict your creativity and visualizing power.
• Party or dine out with friends and family: help you to get a change and also help you in knowing them better and also how they think and react to different things provoke your thinking abilities.
• Be a good observer and this doesn’t mean observing only the problem but observing everything be it society, environment, nature etc. This power of observation gives a thrust to power of imagination and power of generating ideas.
• Follow a different routine: as it will change your daily scenario and will thrust your creativity. This can be achieved by making various little changes like take metro to office instead of your usual car, instead of taking home cooked meal try food at canteen, rather than a cup of tea or coffee go for a shake etc.
• Think by putting yourself in other person’s shoes. This will enable you to think in the way that person will think in any situation and this will enhance your imagination and creativity in any particular circumstance.

All the above things help in broadening the band width of your thinking and also widen the observing power along with creativity. Moreover it can be said that a creative brain resides in a creative and active body and all the above ways makes you more and more creative both mentally and physically and in-turn leads to creative and out of the box thinking and this in-turn leads to success.

To summarise there is a beautiful quote by Unarine Ramaru, “Everyone is born with an instinct of success, and ability to make it, but only the ones who think out of the box succeed .”

PLEASE SHARE YOUR VIEWS AND YOUR OWN WAYS TO THINK CREATIVELY..