"Thinking outside the box" is one of those phrases we hear all of the time nowadays yet fail to ever stop and ask ourselves just what the hell it is supposed to mean. What does it mean to think outside the box? What is thought outside the box like? How does one learn to think outside the box?

A highly developed and well fed imagination is an absolute prerequisite to any serious thought outside the box. One might say it all comes down to the imaginative question, "What if?" Ask it habitually because this question is more important than any other when it comes to creativity. It is all the stimulant an author, student, businessman, artist, etc. needs to begin climbing out of that stifling, stale, and musty old box. "Imagination is intelligence having fun", said the great humorist, George Sciala. Ask any great thinker and he'll tell you that when he is on a roll his work is extremely enjoyable, fun. He's thinking outside the box.

Thinking outside the box involves seeing what is logically illogical. It's to perceive something in a brand new way. It involves juggling about the diverse elements of a problem, seeing all sides of an issue, and realigning this diversity into new and unexplored relationships. It is surprising, delightful, often hilarious, always enlightening.

If thinking outside the box is so wonderful, why don't more people do it? A few talented persons practically live outside the box. The vast majority, however, remain trapped inside. Why? We tend to get in our own way. Thinking outside the box involves a sort of sleight of mind sidestepping dance around the censor, a transcendence of everyday self-criticism. It's a great talent to have but not something we'd want to be doing all of the time. Our critical faculties have a definite evolutionary function. They're there to protect us from making silly mistakes. They keep us from reaching out, say, to touch that giant tarantula over there in the campfire flames. Nevertheless, the ability to short circuit these faculties is a great gift, well worth cultivating.

There are countless ways to develop this sleight of mind skill. Here's some advice for starters. Don't be uptight, anxious, or otherwise inhibited. Roll up your sleeves, take off your choke collar, let down your hair, have a drink even. Do whatever it takes to relax yourself. The corporate conference table is an uptight place. Take it to the park, a picnic table, the nearest pub, somewhere mellow.

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