You'll always be in a box
by Miki SaxonI’ve always believed that boxes get a bad rap and that understanding them is the key to enhancing your creativity.During a conversation on changing the culture in his company, a CEO said, “It’s hard to think about getting outside of the box, because sometimes I forget the box is there.” Don’t we all.
But that’s OK. Actually, I think we all have a box. The creativity difference is in the size of our box. Steve Jobs’ and Steven Spielberg’s boxes are immense, far larger than most, yet they both continue to enlarge them.
And therein lies one of the secrets of a creative organization.
It’s not just encouraging your people to “think outside the box,” it’s helping them understand their box and how to enlarge it.
That’s how it works. As soon as you get outside your own box, a new one forms. Once you totally use up its content and find its sides you go outside that box, a new one forms and the process begins again.
If you work at it, this process continues throughout your life—although some never start it and some get comfortable in a certain box and retain it.
It’s a matter of choice, your choice, within your control to make it happen.
There will always be a box, but with effort you can enlarge it enough to encompass galaxies—and even entire universes.
It’s all yours for the choosing.
What have you done to enlarge your box?
Your comments—priceless
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January 5th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Hi Miki!
This is an interesting perspective. I think that, like most people, I’ve always thought of things being inside the box or outside of the box rather than of an infinitely expanding box.
I think the important thing is not to let conventions and expectations limit you.
January 5th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Hi Laura:)
You’re absolutely right about ignoring external limits. The infinitely expanding (I really like that word image) box means ignoring the same things internally.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:54 am
This is a great perspective! It’s like the gold fish principle where the bigger the bowl the bigger the fish. What a terrific way to look at your own possibilities, an ever expanding box.
January 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Best of all it’s true as is your fish analogy. I was once given a small 4 inch fish that I put in my 100 gallon aquarium and it eventually more than doubled in size. This happens because fish grow based on the concentration of a chemical they secrete into the water. Nature stops growth when the concentration indicates that the environment won’t support them further.