It’s getting close to the time to start putting my next year’s challenges on paper, make adjustments to last year’s results and renew my efforts for my future. You know…..the usual!
Have you heard, “If things are gonna improve, etc. in 2009, we gotta think outside the box?”
Now, ‘thinking outside the box’ is a pretty interesting phrase. I’ve liked it since I first heard it over 15 years ago, but I don’t like what has happened to it. It used to have power. What a pity that we have made it mainstream! Also, using it in commercials, besides just plain being out of context, takes away any possibility from it.
Phrases like this one are able to push us beyond the boundaries of our usual thinking, if we choose. But it is not easy! I’m no expert, that’s for sure, and some great stuff has happened in my life! Ask my children. You cannot pull the wool over their eyes!
And we need to include a caution right up front. We’ll probably very quickly run into the resident expert….our own mind…..that self-deprecating judge who will try to step in, before we can realize any personal benefits from ‘outside the box!’ Yeah, we have a strong tendency to censure what we don’t understand. Or we might suggest that we are already thinking outside the box. What perfect ‘logic’ for remaining just where we are! No problem with that, by the way.
So, I look for a mentor or coach…….not someone who claims knowledge or is very opinionated but rather someone who will help me ask questions that interrupt my normal thoughts.
What would my life look like if I was looking/thinking outside the box? More scary, what things would I have to ‘change’ about today if I actually got outside my boundaries? Aren’t they all self-imposed anyway?
What would ‘outside the box’ look like, as a father? A grandfather? Mate? Community support person? How about my health?
Making resolutions (an ‘inside the box’ process!) might look a bit different this year. How would a person approach 2009 from ‘outside the box?’ I know my next year might matter if I did it that way.
Rich