Where is the box.

We hear this very often, “creative people think outside the box,” and hence this is crucial to creative thinking whether in solving problems, coming to business solutions, writing good articles or creating good designs. But where is the box?? We need to realize that “there is no box” to step outside of. We create our own imaginary boxes simply by accepting certain things as “real” when they are just as illusory. The difference is, enough people agree that certain man-made concepts are “real,” so we’re viewed as “normal.” It is this sort of unquestioning consensus that inhibits our natural creative abilities.
So, rather than looking for ways to inspire creativity, we should realize that we are already capable of creative thinking at all times, but we have to move away the imaginary mental blocks (or boxes) that we’ve picked up along the way..
Here are 10 common ways which become barriers to good ideas and suppress creative thinking.
1. Trying to Find the “Right” Answer: There’s often more than one “correct” answer, and the second one you come up with might be better than the first. Many of the following mental blocks can be turned around to reveal ways to find more than one answer to any given problem. Try reframing the issue in several different ways in order to prompt different answers.
2. Logical Thinking : Too much of logical thinking is often the enemy of truly innovative thoughts. One of the best ways to o escape the limitations of your own logical mind is to think symbolically. This makes your mind free to come up with more alternatives.
3. Following Rules : One way to view creative thinking is to look at it as a destructive force. You’re tearing away the often arbitrary rules that others have set for you, and asking either “why” or “why not” whenever confronted with the way “everyone” does things.
4. Being Practical : Like logic, practicality is hugely important when it comes to execution, but often stifles innovative ideas before they can properly blossom. You might just find yourself discovering a crazy idea that’s so insanely practical that no one’s thought of it before.
5. Play is Not Work : Allowing your mind to be at play is perhaps the most effective way to stimulate creative thinking, and yet many people disassociate play from work. You’ve heard the expression “work hard and play hard.” , they’re the same thing to a creative thinker.
6. That’s Not My Job : In an era of hyper-specialization, it’s those who happily explore completely unrelated areas of life and knowledge who best see that everything is related. Sure, you’ve got to know the specialized stuff in your field, but if you view yourself as an explorer you are likely to gain more.
7. Being a “Serious” Person : Most of us stick to conformity, consistency, shared values, and yes, thinking about things the same way everyone else does. Give yourself permission to be a fool and see things for what they really are.
8. Avoiding Ambiguity : Ambiguity is your friend if you’re looking to innovate. The fact that most people are uncomfortable exploring uncertainty gives you an advantage, as long as you can embrace ambiguity rather than run from it.
9. Being Wrong is Bad : We hate being wrong, and yet mistakes often teach us the most. The best thing we do is learn from our mistakes, but we have to free ourselves to make mistakes in the first place. Just try out your ideas and see what happens, take what you learn, and try something else.
10. I’m Not Creative : Denying your own creativity is like denying you are a human being. We are all limitlessly creative, but only to the extent that we realize that we create our own limits with the way we think. If you tell yourself you’re not creative, it becomes true. Stop that.



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