Get Your Thinking Out Of The Box Self Help Articles | June 21 TJ Brodie Womens Jersey , 2008 What is thinking out of the box? It is getting outside the usual ways of looking at things (that's the box) to arrive at new and useful ideas. How do you do it? Here is one of the many ways. How To G...
What is thinking out of the box? It is getting outside the usual ways of looking at things (that's the box) to arrive at new and useful ideas. How do you do it? Here is one of the many ways.
How To Get Your Thinking Out Of The Box
One of the simplest techniques for "out of the box" thinking is to identify each of the elements of the "box" and consider any alternatives that come to mind, even crazy ones. Most of these will not be useful, but work with them and some may be made into ideas that aren't so crazy after all. Once in a while they may even lead to great innovations. Let's look at a specific example to see how this works.
Suppose you want to stop smoking, and you are looking for a creative new way to do this? First, you need to identify the ideas Mark Giordano Womens Jersey , assumptions and solutions that are common. These are the basis of the "box." They could include:
- It is a matter of willpower.
- This is a personal goal.
- You'll pay for some program to help you quit.
- You have to stop smoking.
- It is difficult to quit.
There are certainly other common ideas and solutions, but these are enough to show how the process works. Starting with the willpower issue, you might ask, "Why does it have to be a test of willpower?" This leads you to consider the easiest ways to quit. Perhaps hypnotism could help. It also suggests not being around others who smoke for a while, so there is no temptation. There is nothing too creative here Jaromir Jagr Womens Jersey , so you move on to the next item.
It is natural to assume that this is a personal goal, but not necessary to keep that perspective. Many people want to quit, perhaps even a few of your friends. Is there some way to make this a group goal? While that thought is in your mind, you challenge the next item with the idea; "What if a program paid me to quit?" That leads to an out-of-the-box solution: A group challenge and bet.
You arrange with three friends who want to quit to each put a thousand dollars in a pot. After one year, those have not smoked a cigarette get to split the pot. If two of you succeed Johnny Gaudreau Womens Jersey , you'll each be a thousand ahead. If only one succeeds, he or she will make three thousand dollars. There's some real motivation, and the competitive nature of the challenge may help as well.
What about the assumption that you have to quit smoking? Is there a way to continue smoking without the health problems? You might switch slowly to cigarettes with less nicotine. You might find that the sensation of the cigarette in your mouth is as important as the nicotine, and you can eventually just "smoke" them without lighting them. These ideas may work, but are not too new Michael Frolik Jersey , so you move on.
What about the idea that it is difficult to quit? You ask yourself, what if it was easy to quit? That gives you nothing, so you play with the idea and ask, "What if it was difficult to smoke?" Now that is an out of the box question, and it immediately suggests some ideas. How do you make it difficult? Perhaps you and your spouse could pay five dollars per cigarette into a special account to be split at the end of a year. Whoever smokes less will gain the most Mike Smith Jersey , and the pain of the high cost will make it tough to smoke much.
The most potentially profitable idea, though, may be that of having a drug that causes you to get immediately nauseous when you smoke. That makes it difficult to continue. It would be something like the drug "anabuse" which makes alcoholics vomit if they drink. It would be even better if it was in the form of an injection that lasts for a month, so you can't "forget" your pill.
You can see the basic process here. First define the "box," by listing all the usual ideas and solutions. Then consider these one-by-one. Attack them Troy Brouwer Jersey , alter them, look for opposites, and do anything else to find a new perspective. There are many ways to have more creative ideas, but this is one of the simplest and most systematic techniques for getting your thinking out of the box.
The previous two Tech Tips took a look at eight basic features of portable MP3 players worth considering before laying down some serious money on one of these devices. Once you have a nice new MP3 player with plenty of space for music, you need to fill it up! There are several ways to go about building your digital music collection Dougie Hamilton Jersey , and we聮ll take a look at a few ways to do so.
The first thing to address may be the term 聯MP3 player.? Many of these devices play MP3 files, in addition to a variety of other formats. Many of the files available for download are actually in a format other than MP3, but the term has been applied to cover this whole class of devices, whether it is 100% accurate or not.
Create Your Own
There are numerous software titles available that make creating MP3 files from CDs (or other sources) a simple process. Most involve minimal input from the user once they have configured their preferences, and will take the audio and convert it into the digital format of their choice. During the 聯ripping?process Travis Hamonic Jersey , most applications will query an online database, such as Gracenote ( ), and take care of the file naming and ID tagging needed to make storing, sorting, and accessing the files a snap with most players.