On many of the projects that I have recently worked on, people have told me to, “Think outside of the box.” First of all, I’d like to know what box they are referring to. Second, why do they assume I’m inside of a box? Third, if I am inside a box how did I get there? I don’t remember climbing into it nor do I remember being put into one. If I was, it was against my will and without my knowledge.
It hasn’t restricted my breathing. The air doesn’t even appear to be stale. If I am inside a box it doesn’t seem to limit my mobility. As I move around, I’m not kicking the sides so it would seem that it is a rather large box. As a matter of fact, I have no recollection of ever having run into the sides. It would seem to me that the box is large enough for me to do all the thinking I need to do.
Assuming that I am in a box, I have no experience thinking outside of it and since I have done pretty well so far, I’m not sure that I want to do any thinking outside of the box. How do I know if I’m qualified to think outside of the box and if I am, who determines my qualifications? What qualifies a person to tell me that I should think outside of the box? Do these people think outside of the box? Do these people even see the box? Do these people know what they are talking about?
If the new thing is to think outside of the box, shouldn’t someone stay in the box to do some thinking? I mean, if everybody is doing their thinking outside of the box, who is minding the box? When I have an empty box lying around, it generally gets thrown away. Do we really want to risk losing the box where most of us have done our thinking for most of our lives?
If I go outside the box, can I get back in? Can someone guarantee that if I don’t like thinking outside of the box that I can get back in? Before we tackle this question perhaps we should discuss how to get out of the box to begin with. Is there a door? I’d prefer an escalator if possible.
I guess when people tell me to “Think outside of the box,”I’ll just keep thinking inside the box. How will they tell the difference. Pretty soon everybody will be thinking outside the box and the new thing will be to think inside the box. When it is, I’ll be ready. I’ll already be there.
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