Tuesday, September 16, 2008

When It Comes to Your Life, "Think Inside the Box"

Mass layoffs on Wall Street... Hurricanes pounding Florida, Louisiana and Texas... Earthquakes in China and Iran... In all the coverage--still photography and video--we see haggard and harried people toting boxes with their most prized possessions inside. They've managed to place in a box the items most important to them.

They've thought "inside the box."

We all know the popularity of the phrase to "think outside the box." In business this cliche is meant to exhort people to adopt innovative, creative and unorthodox approaches to overcoming challenges. Like many sayings borne in business, the phrase has migrated into our personal lives with the same definition.

What if we have it wrong? What if the best solutions to professional and/or personal problems are those items which during a genuine crisis we put "inside the box"?

When we leave a place--whether by choice or circumstances--we put our stuff in a box and depart. The stuff in this case are material goods--photos of loved ones, diplomas, certificates, prized books, items of sentimental value. In a microcosmic way, the stuff we take tells the story of who we are, where we've been, what we do, whom we love. The stuff we take inside our box defines us.

"Thinking inside the box" allows us to tap the deep wellspring of our personal and professional experiences and skills. Rather than "think outside the box", we look inside ourselves for creative, innovative and unorthodox solutions to challenges. The items in our box help us overcome these challenges.

As we've seen from what refugees of natural and man-made crises carry, "thinking inside the box" forces us to prioritize those items (tangible or not) that are most important and meaningful to us.

So next time you're confronted with a professional or personal challenge, disregard the ubiquitous calls to "think outside the box." Instead, think inside the box.

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