Thinking outside the box by Tamia

Thinking outside the box by Tamia - October 2018 Scholarship Essay

The phrase “Thinking outside the box” to me, means being different. Thinking outside the box is typically defined as creative thinking, to be creative you must think like nobody else would. By thinking differently, it expands one's mind and gives greater detail to basic everyday things. Some ways to think outside the box are: Studying different things, working backwards, and doing brain teasers.

To me thinking outside the box is way more than just having an idea, it is more productive when you put that idea to the test. Take brain teasers for example, an inkblot test is a way to determine just how out of the box someone's thinking is. When doing an inkblot test, psychologists use it to determine personality characteristics and emotional functioning of a person. Most people may see one thing while participating in the test and others may see something completely different. The goal of the inkblot test is to see how that patient is thinking whether it's a sad, happy, or mad feeling. The goal with thinking outside the box is to have a thought or idea that another person might not have. Teamwork is also another great example of this. Let's say the “leader: of the group wants to do things one way and it's just a general idea, and everybody agrees except you. You are being the person that takes that idea and goes more in depth with it, by going more in depth with this idea you are thinking outside the box and are most likely helping the group understand and think the way our thinking.

In conclusion the phrase “thinking outside the box” to me, means thinking in a different manner and in a different mindset. Some tests and experiments can help with this but, overall, I believe it's all about how you approach it and what you do with it.