How Can You Force Yourself To Think Outside of the Box?

Thinking outside the box means thinking differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. 

When it comes to thinking outside the box, it's essential that you are prepared to take risks and make mistakes.

Learning something new can help you look at the things you already know how to do from a completely different angle.

There are many ways to force yourself to think outside of the box. Here are some suggestions:

1. First recognise that we all live inside boxes which frame our view of the world. We all make assumptions.
2. Stay curious and open-minded. Ask many questions about any situation and be receptive to different points of view.
3. List the underlying ground rules and assumptions. Then for each one ask this question, ‘What if the opposite were true?’
4. Use some lateral thinking techniques to brainstorm wild ideas – e.g. use What if? and Random Word methods.
5. Ask a complete outsider for their views on the situation.
6. Deliberately read periodicals and visit websites which disagree with your point of view in order to be aware of different perspectives.
7. Don’t accept theories and models at face value. Test ideas in a small way in the real world. Place more trust in empirical results.
8. Find out how people from different countries and cultures view any situation.
9. When someone criticises you or disagrees with you, do not dismiss or reject them. Say to yourself, ‘There might be something valuable in what they say.’
10. Mix with people you do not normally mix with. Mix with people who are unlike you in background and attitude. Ask for their opinions.

Creative thinking is the force that propels us forward in life.

Thinking outside the box is about dispensing with constraints and is a sought after skill in the business world.

We can train ourselves to alter the self-organizing patterning systems by learning how to coerce our minds into taking alternative routes.

The best way to do this is practice, each day break your daily habits and try to break away from your usual way of doing things. This helps see past those invisible but very much present constraints that we have built ourselves.   

Our brain is truly an amazing machine. It’s designed to consistently find the most practical solutions while investing the least amount of energy. 

Thinking outside the box requires creativity and risk taking, and with risk taking mistakes can happen. Failure is often broad and numerous before great success and that is especially true for new and original concepts, products and design.