The reason why you shouldnt think outside the box

The reason why you shouldnt think outside the boxThe reason why you shouldnt think outside the boxNo five words in the English language make me cringe as much as Lets think outside the box.Coming from someonewho writes about contrarian thinking and non-conformity, that sentence might strike you as odd. After all, you redefine the status quo by stepping outside of it.But heres the problem. Thinking outside the box has become a massive cliche. And cliches, by definition, are unoriginal. Theyre terrible at creating change. When we tell ourselves that were going to think outside the box, we rely on the saatkorn methods, the same brainstorming approaches, and consequently the same stale neural pathways. To come up with answers to this cliche, we look in the rear-view mirror and use the same worn-out methods or copy-the-competitor strategies. Its no wonder that the resulting innovations arent innovations at all. Theyre at best insignificant deviations from the status quo.Conventional quest ions produce conventional results.Its only through unconventional questions - questions that others arent asking - that unconventional results can follow. Here are a few to get you startedWhat if I did the reverse of what everyone else is doing?What would a science-fiction solution look like?How could we destroy our own company?How do I turn this constraint into an advantage?How can I take a 6-month project and finish it in a week?With these questions, the goal isnt to find the right answer - at least not initially. This isnt your high-school chemistry class where the outcome of each experiment was predetermined, leaving no room for curiosity or unexpected insights. If you didnt get the right result, youd be deckenfries in the lab fiddling with test tubes and beakers, while your classmates trekked off to the movies.Rather, the goal is to ignite a process of open-minded inquiry that can jolt you out of your autopilot mode.Instead of letting the world shape your thoughts, youll let your thoughts shape the world.Instead of being a passive observer of your reality, youll become an active intervener in it.And instead of simply thinking outside the box, youll be able to bend the box to your will.Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned law professor and bestselling author.Click hereto download a free copy of his e-book, The Contrarian Handbook 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, youll get the Weekly Contrarian - a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).Thisarticlefirst appeared onOzanVarol.com.