Daily
life offers many opportunities to think outside the box. On board a jet plane,
the flight attendant instructs, “Look for the nearest exit and keep in mind it
may be behind you.” Transforming
pantry odds and ends into a gourmet meal is another example.
The other
day, I was searching for #8 envelopes in the stationery store. I located the
airmail and manila envelopes on the shelf at eye level but couldn’t find the
common ones. I asked for help. The attendant found them at the bottom of
another shelf. I realized I missed an obvious opportunity to think outside the
box. In support of my oversight, the helper suggested that these envelopes
could be moved to a more logical and convenient location adjacent to the others.
“Thinking outside the box” refers to
taking an imaginative approach to solve a problem, as opposed to a rigid,
unyielding method that calls to mind a square box. In other words, thinking
outside the box is often counterintuitive. Each problem is unique and often
can’t be anticipated or tackled with prescribed methods.
Long
before the term was coined, great minds thought outside the box and made contributions.
One example is Dr. Alexander Fleming who in 1928 discovered the antibiotic
penicillin. Instead of thinking along conventional lines to regard the mold in
his Petri dish as an annoying contaminant, he recognized the potential
advantage of its effect-namely to wipe out the surrounding bacteria.
When the
medical approach fails to yield results or a satisfactory solution, the
sufferer can benefit from considering alternatives that lie outside the limits
of Western medicine. For example, Mr. A suffered from pain in his knee caused
by an inoperable condition. He consulted several physicians who offered nothing
beyond lifelong prescriptions for pain medication. Fortunately Mr. A. persisted
and discovered that acupuncture relieved the symptoms.
After diagnosing
Mr. O’s prostate cancer, the surgeon scheduled him for immediate surgery.
“Wait a minute,” Mr. O said. “I want to
consider alternatives.” He was proud that he thought outside the box to avoid
surgery and choose a less invasive approach.
CONCLUSION:
Thinking outside the box is an invaluable tool, especially important to keep in
mind when conventional thinking doesn’t offer a satisfactory solution to a
problem.
I was telling my mother about you and how we met on the bus and how your column inspires me.
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