Often in our life there are situations when someone offers us a new, unexpected, but this seems to be a simple solution to some issue, after which we are surprised for a long time: “Of course! How could I not have thought of this myself ?! " And the reason is simple - it lies in the presence of non-standard thinking in each person. Someone has it by nature. And for those whom she cheated, it is quite possible to find it.
Developing lateral thinking is a matter of your desire and timing. For this, scientists, researchers and just enthusiasts make up various riddle problems, puzzles and tests. Their conditions are specially formed in such a way that a certain pattern appears in your head. And in order to find the right decision- you need to move away from him. As a rule, children pass the test for lateral thinking easiest - they are not yet so susceptible to common social norms and stereotyped thinking.
Most people are more mature age do not pay attention to the development of thinking skills. We are convinced that everything is in order with our thinking and everything that we could develop and form in ourselves was revealed in childhood. Although thinking is the main resource that we use in modern life... In school, we are rather taught obedience, the ability to resignedly accept someone else's point of view as the only possible truth, as a result of which our mind is closed to other views.
People with out-of-the-box thinking usually have a rich imagination, extraordinary logical ability, and not just a high IQ.
How to develop lateral thinking?
Trainers on personal growth at their seminars, they recommend paying attention to the development of non-standard thinking, tk. it is today that is one of the most valuable personality traits. They offer the following recommendations:
- Using the principle of "beginner mind". Learn to give up what you know now, to look at the situation, without stereotypes and preconceived notions. Many academics and scientists, despite the confidence in their own knowledge, are ready to subject it to verification and doubt if new data do not agree with it.
- Accumulation of direct experience. Remember that even being in the community of experts, you still remain the master personal experience... Never be afraid to ask questions and voice your opinion. The more own experience will be with you, the more nuances you can take into account in the future when making decisions.
- Using the Ideas Wallet. It will help you to observe more what is happening around and, over time, your consciousness itself will cling to different moments of life, trying on new, unusual views and solutions for them. Record all the ideas that come to your mind, they will then develop in your subconscious, regardless of whether you think about them or not.
- Try to think out less "from yourself" and more concretize any situation. Pay attention to detail, but also don't lose sight of the big picture. It is the correlation of all the facts together that will help you abstract yourself and give you the opportunity to equally “catch on” to each of them.
To determine how developed, flexible and flexible your thinking is, you can take a test for thinking outside the box. The principle of such tests, as a rule, is to "lull" the work of your left brain hemisphere, which is responsible for logical thinking and then ask unexpected questions. How quickly you will be able to react, and how extraordinary your answer will be, and the level of non-traditionalness of your thinking depends. It also usually contains statistics, which indicate the opinion of the majority of people.
Thinking outside the box - examples
There are many options for questions to test the stereotyped thinking. We have given examples of just a few of them:
1. You need to answer quickly, without hesitation.
- What color is the paper?
- White.
- What color is the toilet?
- White.
- What color is the snow?
- White.
- What is the cow drinking?
- Milk.
2. Another task of this kind:
- What is two squared?
- Four.
- What is three squared?
- Nine.
- Why equal angle squared?
This is meaningless, - the interlocutor usually answers, whose brain has already stirred up arithmetic knowledge in his memory, protecting it from the emergence of other concepts.
Indeed, a corner in a square is meaningless. But it comes already about something else - oh geometric figure... The angle squared is ninety degrees.
3. The supplicant takes a piece of paper and writes: "Chicken, Pushkin, Tolstoy, Apple tree, Nose", and asks the following questions:
Having received the answers, he unfolds the piece of paper, and in 99% of cases the answers turn out to be guessed (of course, if the person has not fallen for this bait before).
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In the twentieth century, psychologists E.P. Torrance and J.P. Guilford studied the intellectual abilities of people and developed unique system tests. This system evaluates the level of intelligence and creativity of the subject. Previously, such tests were used in training by the military, and today they are included in some school curricula.
Taking the research of scientists as a basis, site invites you to test your thinking outside the box.
Below are 10 pictures. Look at them carefully and tell me what is depicted there. If the answer seems too obvious, this is another reason to think a little longer.
Look for the results at the end of the article.
Unlike the tests we are used to, this one does not contain deliberately correct or incorrect answers. An indicator of creativity is how far your answers are from the most predictable and how many diverse options you could come up with.
- The average person might see a candle on a stand here, but it is also a corkscrew that is stuck in the cork.
- Thought they were just footprints in a circle? Others see the parachutist flying to the ground (bottom view).
- It looks like a compass. But a non-standard person will see here how a hungry chick in the nest is calling for its mother (top view).
- Reminds of puddles on the road. But in fact it is a giraffe (view from the second floor window).
- At first glance, it doesn't look like anything at all. And if you imagine that it is a bear climbing down from a tree? And only the paws are visible.
- Have you seen a car wheel? Now try to see a Mexican dancing in a sombrero (top view).
- Ordinary people see here half a piece of amateur sausage or a heel mark. But it is also a train that leaves the tunnel (front view).
- Think it's easy men shirt with a bow tie? And some believe that the unlucky waiter was trapped by the elevator doors.
- Car enthusiasts see a speedometer here, physicists see a barometer. And people with out-of-the-box thinking can make out a snowman (top view).
- Many people say that "someone is hiding behind something." It is more interesting to think that these are brave border guards with dogs hiding behind the barricade.
If for each image you come up with:
1-2 answer options: alas, you think like the vast majority of the inhabitants of the earth. Or you didn’t take the test seriously and went straight to the answers with curiosity. This option counts in your favor, because curiosity is closely related to creativity.
3-5 answer options: if all the answers are far from each other in meaning and you did not spend all night looking for them, then congratulations. You think outside the box, you are creative in solving problems and you can move mountains if you want! Or figure out how to avoid this if the initiative does not come from you.
6 or more answer options: nothing can resist your tenacity. Your creativity is beyond praise, and frames and templates literally crumble to dust when you approach. Hats off.
People with out-of-the-box thinking stand out against the background of ordinary people. They are bright, and the world around them seems to be different. Problems are solved in unexpected ways, and they are not baffled by an unusual situation, and they are also not afraid to try. Such people often seem a little crazy, but in general they live brighter lives, and it is much more interesting to communicate with them.
Most vivid example thinking outside the box are children. For them, there are simply no unsolvable problems and questions. They are interested in the whole world, they are curious and inquisitive. Adults very often lose these qualities.
Why does this happen and, with age, the ability to think outside the box disappears somewhere?
As a child, we are all why and we are very keenly interested in the world around us. But for adults it is not very convenient, the kid always tugging at the hand with another "stupid" question. And they brush him off, also at school, then at university. And a person simply stops asking questions not only to others, but also to himself. And that means looking for answers to them. Now he simply swallows the information that authorities have prepared for him: teachers, scientists, parents and stops seeing other options lying beyond this line. Moreover, if someone shows him other possibilities, he will see them and even perceive them, but it is very, very difficult for him to create them, or at least to discern them himself. So a person falls into the rut of narrow thinking.
Having fallen into the rut of one's own ideas and prejudices, it is very difficult to get out of it, the exit is simply not visible, it is hidden in the field of vision. However, you can get out of it by re-developing in yourself the non-standard thinking characteristic of him in childhood.
So, how to develop lateral thinking.
To begin with, very simple exercises requiring a minimum of effort. They are suitable for people who are not ready for radical changes or are very afraid of them.
The first step on our way will be return of interest in life... Read on! But read popular science literature or at least children's encyclopedias in the spirit of "I get to know the world." Watch educational films and good science fiction... Get out of your closed information field and take a look at this world in all its diversity.
Return to the questions that interested you as a child and try to find answers to them. It is better to try to find your answer explaining the phenomenon, but if it is difficult now, then the library and the Internet will help you.
Begin to perform actions and deeds that are not familiar to you. You can start small: go home by a different route, go to new shop, buy something that you have never tried, cook a new exotic dish, etc. If you make it a habit and practice a little, but every day, after a month you will look at the world a little differently.
We train observation. You can do special exercises, or you can just go and notice changes in the world around you. Every day to notice more and more in the environment.
Now our horizons have broadened a little, and we can already get out of our knurled rut a little. Therefore, the tasks can be complicated.
Development of lateral thinking for the advanced. For those who feel the ability and willingness to carry out further tasks.
Now we do not just perform ordinary actions, just a little differently, but we are looking for ourselves an activity that you have never done. It can be anything from dancing to skydiving. The more unusual it is for you, the better.
Travels, especially long ones, change our thinking very well. New people, with their own approach to life that is not similar to yours, do not voluntarily change your thoughts. New questions appear in my head, new approaches to problem solving are formed.
Try to walk outside the crowd, stop and see if there is no other way out, push closed door. Don't be afraid to stop and think before following the majority.
The following tasks for the development of lateral thinking will require an effort on your part, some overcoming yourself.
Ask questions of your authorities, question their point of view. Challenge a teacher or colleague's assertion and try to prove otherwise. Question the conventional wisdom and try to give a different answer to the question.
Perform your most wildest dreams , no matter how stupid they would seem now.
Be sure to do any kind of creativity. It requires a constant search for new solutions.
Do not just actions that are not typical for you, but actions that do not contradict the law, but run counter to conventional wisdom... Ask stupid questions to passers-by, dance in the street, sing. This will require a certain breakdown of the system within you, not to mention those around you.
Quite often you hear the phrase "out-of-the-box thinking" addressed to successful people who have achieved significant results in their field of activity. Indeed, the ability to find answers outside the typical solutions used in certain situations can help to obtain significant benefits.
but the main problem lies in the fact that the human brain is designed in such a way that it forms stereotypes quite easily and perceives significant deviations from them as a sign wrong deed... To be able to think outside the box, it is necessary to move away from stereotypical behavior and learn to use unusual images without rejecting them.
Some people see behind the definition of "out-of-the-box thinking" the absence of the formal logic we are used to, uniting a group of methods of obtaining information based on disaggregated data. This is fundamentally wrong - the difference lies in the ability to find cause-and-effect relationships and calculate their action in advance, predicting the consequences of their actions in advance.
Common knowledge is an example. Try to think about why it is cold outside in January. A person with formulaic thinking will answer that winter has come, while there is a deeper explanation for this, containing astronomical reasons, climate change, and so on.
The ability to find detailed explanations for what is happening is also an important sign of thinking outside the box.
Why is it necessary to develop lateral thinking on your own - what is the main reason? The answer is partially given above - the human brain forms certain stereotypes of behavior and way of thinking, which inevitably lead to the creation of patterns, which can be very difficult to cross.
An important reason is the passage through the domestic education system. Being rigidly fixed for 60-70 years, it does not contribute to the development in children of the ability to accept independent decisions and draw conclusions from the current situations.
It is also necessary to pay attention to its essence - young people are deprived of the opportunity to conduct independent research, apply lateral thinking. Instead, dogmas are formed that artificially limit the horizon and create unshakable confidence in the correctness of the words of authoritative sources.
That's why modern society more and more takes the form of a homogeneous faceless mass. The chances of success for individual members are minimal - after all, their thinking is pre-configured to obey a strong leader, as well as to comply with generally accepted standards that do not always correspond to the real needs of a person.
To break out of this vicious circle, it is necessary to use special techniques for the development of personal potential. Having received out-of-the-box thinking, you will be able to see alternative exits in situations that previously had only one solution for you, not always conducive to obtaining maximum number benefits.
Development exercises
Oddly enough, quite standard tasks and questions are used to develop the ability to find atypical ways out of situations. However, it is worth taking a closer look, and you can understand that they contain a feature that allows you to go beyond the usual and move away from previously used images.
Problem 1
For example, it is a common challenge for lateral thinking to find a way to arrange lighting in a room when a light bulb fails.
It is important to find here not the fastest, easiest and effective solution, and come up with the maximum number of options for limited time... Think carefully if you can name 10 methods in 5 minutes - and after you write them down on paper, try to analyze and name three advantages and disadvantages of each of them in 5 minutes.
In addition, thinking outside the box involves finding the deep essence of phenomena. Listen to the sounds of your home - the clock is ticking, the refrigerator hums regularly, you can hear the quiet noise of the wind from outside. Think about the reason for these sounds. Imagine the device of a clock, refrigerator, find the source of the wind.
If your knowledge is not enough, look through specialized literature on electrical engineering, mechanics, meteorology. Learn not to take the obvious facts on faith - thinking outside the box will teach you to look for the source of every action and phenomenon.
Look around the room and find everyday items. Write the names of 10 items on a piece of paper and try to find as many uses for them as possible, using one minute for each item on the list. Imagine that you have 100 thousand dollars. In 5 minutes, write down how you will use them and try to identify your benefits from each direction of spending money.
As a result of developing lateral thinking, you will learn to seek possible benefit for yourself in everything, and also get the opportunity to explain in detail the advantages and disadvantages of a particular line of behavior.
Task 2
Thinking outside the box requires going beyond the boundaries of everyday life. Try to travel more, get the maximum amount of additional interesting information... If this is not possible, remember certain points of the planet or city and try to give them as many characteristics as possible in a limited time.
Play the role play- Imagine yourself as a specialist in a particular field. List in detail the daily routine of the plumber, firefighter, businessman, police officer, doctor, teacher, financial analyst, and other professionals.
As you develop out-of-the-box thinking, you will need to obtain more information, which will allow you to learn more about previously unknown areas of human activity.
Problem 3
Play Association - Imagine famous person and a friend from your social circle.
Try to find:
- three common features in their appearance;
- three - in character;
- three - in the style of speech;
- three - in the biography.
Take unrelated items and analyze their essence. What do a laptop and an old sweater in the closet have in common? Any answers for which there is a rationale are accepted. The result will open up lateral thinking for you and help you find more hidden properties of things that you previously could only guess about, and also help you see the essence of certain objects or phenomena.
Classic techniques
Thinking outside the box is a subject of long-standing research by scientists who are interested in different areas human cognition... They have developed a set of generalized tips that can greatly improve the ability to move away from traditional patterns and stereotypes.
http://youtu.be/-Eie2ZWJCQ4
The most important recommendation is the need to find convincing refutations or evidence of any point of view expressed. Taking on faith even well-known facts is one of the ways of stereotyped thinking that does not allow you to develop intellectually.
An exercise in non-standard thinking is effective, which involves finding refutations to any unsubstantiated statement.
Take any fact that is only validated by what "people say" and find evidence to the contrary. A critical approach is one of the foundations scientific knowledge the surrounding world.
View a certain phenomenon over time - for example, study the three states of water and describe in words the visible changes. An alternative can be social foundations - read the history of the 15.19 centuries and compare the situation of people with modernity.
A challenge that fosters out-of-the-box thinking well is the use of a random factor. Open the dictionary at random and take the fifth word from the top of the page. Try to write a one page story that focuses on the essence of this concept... Similarly, open the directory and find the first number that comes across, and then try to remember where it can occur in your immediate environment.
The key point is to maximize the potential of your brain - you need to constantly load yourself with intellectual work, without which development is impossible.
Good day! Today we will talk about unusual image thoughts, which allows you to go beyond the boundaries of the usual, to consider reality in an extraordinary way and find new ways out of seemingly dead-end situations. Yes, this is thinking outside the box.
A creative view of the world is now held in high esteem. As a result of the global crisis, large corporations are looking not only for responsible, punctual, obedient employees who will do their job as standard. These qualities are becoming insufficient for rapidly developing sphere business. But to quickly navigate in the changed circumstances, find an original solution in stressful conditions, offer new idea- such skills are in trend today.
If you cannot yet distinguish yourself with the qualities mentioned above, it does not matter: you have already stepped towards how development creative thinking will appear in your life. Namely: they began to be interested in this topic.
Let's be like children
Almost always, unusual thinking is characteristic of children who are not loaded with stereotypes and social fears such as: “ What will they think of me?". They are just beginning to comprehend the world around them, so they are interested in everything that surrounds them: “ Why does the wind blow?», « Where do the waves come from?», « Where do the moon and stars disappear during the day?". Adults, unfortunately, often lack the patience, creativity and knowledge to adequately answer such questions, to support the child's curiosity.
Often, each new knowledge that comes in childhood is interpreted by children in an unpredictable way: various toys begin to be used in an unusual way for an adult, and phrases are given out that baffle others. Moreover, they often contain a lot of common sense.
Jonathan Foer, in his book Beyond, masterfully reproduces the logic of a nine-year-old boy. He invents new things every minute. For example, instead of a boring whistle, a kettle can be given the opportunity to sing or read poetry at the moment when the spout rises under the influence of steam and the water boils. Or come up with special tiny microphones that you can swallow, and when a person moves, they would reproduce a heartbeat through micro-speakers. And since humans do not have wings, a lifejacket must be created from bird food for an urgent evacuation.
Sounds funny, a little absurd. But why shouldn't adults use such techniques? Here you can come up with 10 unusual ways banana peel uses? What about toothpaste?
Be sure to try this. And you will feel how in a different way, more creatively you began to live, to go beyond the ordinary.
What is the use of thinking outside the box?
It's simple: a non-standard approach to mental activity, combined with willpower and dedication, is the most powerful tool in the hands of a person. Approximately the following results can be achieved by training your ability to think in an original way:
- Awareness appears... With clichés, you get rid of the automatic lifestyle. Being present in the here and now is a principle that definitely improves life. This will help you come to meetings on time, make mistakes in small things less often, memorize information better, and navigate faster.
- Is increasing working efficiency ... This is because creative thinking eliminates unnecessary hassle, reduces time and energy costs for unnecessary things. And this means that time and energy are freed up for the desire to spend them effectively.
- Horizons of opportunity open up... A person who creatively considers every situation is difficult to be confused. His thinking calculates even incredible options. further developments, provides opportunities, as well as new paths of movement.
We develop creativity of thinking
You probably know that the human brain is divided into two hemispheres: left and right. Left hemisphere correlates with right hand, is responsible for the analysis of information and logic, and the right one is coordinated with the left hand, guides our intuition, creativity... Have you noticed that all left-handers are somewhat different? This is because their right-brain thinking is more developed. Of course, I do not mean that the left one does not work for them at all. Try to make your brain work more harmoniously. That is, if you are right-handed, try to perform elementary actions with your left hand, and vice versa.
Oddly enough, but even such a trifle as a change working hand at the moment when you brush your teeth, it will help to activate the brain and think outside the box!
Set aside at least 15-20 minutes a day to develop creative thinking. After a month, you will definitely notice the result.
You can start by solving children's problems. Out-of-the-box thinking is facilitated by puzzles, riddles, rebuses. When you don't have enough free time, try to do it in between:
- While driving on public transport reflect on where, why people around you are going. Make up whole stories about them.
- If you are traveling by bus or walking, pay attention to the signs, read them the other way around. Sometimes it comes out very funny.
- When reading on the way home from work, read not from top to bottom, as usual, but vice versa. It turns out that the characters perform actions in reverse order as if slowly rewinding a tape.
- Come up with funny new names.
- Draw funny caricatures or non-existent animals, abstractions, or just malyaky. Your painting doesn't have to be pretty, so don't put limits on yourself. It will be great if you pick up some more unusual name your drawing.
- Taking a break from work, come up with combinations of incongruous words. For example, salted honey, false truth, etc.
- Imagine that any word is an abbreviation. Try to decipher it. For example, the word "treasure": cool, beloved, absurd business.
- Come up with unusual uses for common objects.
There are many ways to develop your creativity. By a certain point, you'll start to come up with your own. If you're not sorry, share your personal options in the comments.
Finally, I want to offer you a few questions for thinking outside the box. Remember that, as with anything creative, there is no single right answer.
- Why is the stream bubbling?
- Imagine being reduced in size and thrown to the bottom of a blender. It will turn on after 30 seconds. What to do to get out?
- Why are all hatches round?
The answers to these questions can also be thrown to the comments, let's see what happens.
The ability to think outside the box is the willingness to look at a situation from a new angle, to see hidden opportunities ordinary life phenomena... The more diligently you improve this skill, the more interesting and brighter your life will be.
Until next time, sincerely, Alexander Fadeev. Creative discoveries and non-standard situations for you from the category: the further, the more wonderful.
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Hi. My name is Alexander. I am the author of the blog. For more than 7 years I have been developing websites: blogs, landing pages, online stores. Always glad to meet new people and your questions, comments. Add in social networks. I hope the blog will be useful to you.
