Change Your Way of Thinking

Stop thinking outside the box. Create your own box, then think outside of that one.  No matter how you feel about the phrase "Thinking outside the box", most consider the phrase outdated and over-used. I was never one to use that phrase for many reasons. For a long time I was in the minority so I thought it was time to bring the phrase back, sort of.....

INSTEAD of spending time thinking outside the box, create your own box. It is important to always keep ethics and morals at the top of your List of Character Traits, so why not create your own box instead of worrying about thinking outside of a box created by others?

IT is time to CHANGE your way of thinking, stop letting total strangers dictate and influence how you think, what you say, and what you do. So many people read an article on the internet or overhear someone sharing information or telling a story and find it interesting or intriguing. What happens next? It becomes our way of thinking, we adopt those same feelings and thoughts then incorporate that logic into our everyday lives.

WHY are we willing to let so many others not inside our own circle of influence indirectly or directly change our mindset? Because it is what so many do. I can't tell you how many people ranging from entry level professionals to Presidents and CEO's of large companies tell me that they built their resume' a certain way because they read an article online. Or how many hiring managers ask specific questions in an interview because they heard it at some seminar or read it on the internet. Then in an interview, we hear questions like, "what all would I find in your refrigerator?" or "If you were a food, what type of food would you be?"

CREATE your own box instead of worrying about all of the other "boxes" then start thinking outside of your own box. This not only allows us to become much more selective and cautious about how we act and speak but it also allows us to think for ourselves using the knowledge we gained the right way not everybody else's way.

WHAT happens next? We start challenging ourselves to read more books and articles that we should be reading not random articles and catch phrases. We start listening more to those we trust and respect which will allows us to become wiser and more diligent in all ways of life. We then start influencing those around us both personally and professionally in ways we know that will add true value, not just living inside boxes created by others.

TIME to create your own box, then start thinking outside of your own box. This is how we challenge ourselves to not only be the best we can be but it allows us to best influence all of those around us in a positive way.

MAKE it your PASSION to make a positive difference in at least one persons life every day. If you can accomplish that, you will have accomplished a great deal because when we make a positive difference in just one life, we may be making a positive difference in many lives, we have no idea how many other people's lives are touched in that same positive manner.

As the Great Jim Valvano said “We should do three things every day of our life. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is to think, we should spend some time in thought. And number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears.” Now that is what I call Creating your Own Box, then thinking outside of it.