There is no box

I used to love the phrase 'think outside the box'. Now though, I really hate it. It's become a cliché, and if you analyse its principle... it's a pretty rigid concept. For me:

There is no box in the first place.

To think outside the box has to involve a 'box' in the first place. In order to break the rules, you first have to be governed by them? Well, this aspect is true... rules can only be broken if there are any. The main problem I have with the phrase, is that it is used in creative and/or problem solving exercises where people can't seem to think of an original idea. Or by those of us that hit a 'dead end' with their ideas. Which I do... I put my hand up.

But I hate boxes.

Boxes confine and determine our behaviour. For me, a box symbolises a set of rules that govern how we think. So when someone says 'think outside the box', all they are trying to do is find their own voice. Their original idea. Well, here's an original idea: there is no fucking box!!!

I get most excited when there are no rules or limitations. I love being given a 'blank canvas' to come up with whatever I want. With no rules to guide you, how are you supposed to think 'outside' them? You can't! You have to dig deeper and connect with your individual ideas and theories. It's not a simple matter of going against the grain (as the box analogy would have you believe). It's actually about being honest with yourself and discovering your own ideas without having to break anyone else’s rules.

Radical? Not really.

This links quite well with my ideas on 'critical thinking'. To find your inner-voice, which isn't directly influenced by a 'box' or a 'system'.

So, the next time you're in a meeting and someone says 'we need to think outside the box', explain to them there is no fucking box and that you need to think of an original idea that has no correlation to a predetermined set of rules.

That'll shut them up.

There is no box.