My mother liked Norman Vincent Peale, but as a teenager I was of course much too sophisticated to read the copy of “The Power of Positive Thinking” she gifted me one Christmas. I ran across it the other day and had one of those bittersweet “wish I had listened” moments we sometimes have when we remember our departed parents.
In a 1969 article for the Chicago Tribune, Peale wrote about an innovative approach to solving problems. He said, “[People] get caught up inside the box of their own lives. You’ve got to approach any problem objectively. Stand back and see it for exactly what it is. From a little distance, you can see it a lot more clearly. Try and get a different perspective, a fresh point of view. Step outside the box your problem has created within you and come at it from a different direction.”
The expression is even older than that. One of the earliest published examples appeared in ”The Annual Register” in 1888 in a discussion of the evolution of British politics: “…having changed at Mr. Gladstone’s signal, from all but unanimous repudiation of home rule in 1885, to its enthusiastic support in 1887, the Liberal party became a one-man party which scarcely ventured to think outside the lines prescribed by its dictator.”
Remarkable, isn’t it, how human nature remains consistent against the changing background of politics, culture, and scientific advancement?
As for scientific advancement, thinking outside the box would surely be part of a working definition. It is at the heart of innovation, improvisation, and adaptation. I think it’s often a component of humor as well. The successful comedian can catch us by surprise by revealing something familiar in a new light or from a different angle.
I still laugh when I glance at my saved copy of an old meme, “The redneck hot tub.” It’s an image of a guy in the bucket of a front-end loader. The bucket is full of water and suspended over a campfire. And yes, the only reason I haven’t tried it is my bucket has drainage holes and my bathtub is deep enough to accomplish the same thing without having to split any more firewood.
We laugh out loud at the memes and the videos and feel superior to those rednecks and rubes, but if you’re a guy you think to yourself, “You know, that’s not such a bad idea,” and quietly file it away for future reference.
We do live in an area with a long tradition of thinking outside the box. This is true of any spot on the globe where people had to struggle to survive, had to make do and make by hand. The farm tools I keep, passed down from grand and great grandfather, continue to impress me with the elegance of their simplicity and efficiency.
For all these reasons and more, getting outside the box became the motivation behind the title of this column and our unassuming and mostly friendly attempts to encourage others to do the same. Our crowded planet has grown smaller, and the walls have closed in, built by those in fear of the unruly herd.
I’m not speaking of physical walls, but of social, political, and intellectual boundaries designed to manage people like human capital, and often like cattle. Three hundred forty million people in the US get our highly curated information from 6 companies working hand in hand with the permanent administrative state. Our political choices usually boil down to a false dilemma designed to ensure the survival of the box. We have more taboos than the Puritans, and many of our youngers live in fear of violating these restrictions on speech and thought itself.
“Well, that’s all well and good but what does it mean? Give me something I can use.”
There are several practical applications for this way of thinking. One of the most dangerous walls boxing in citizens (and their governments) is debt. Get out of it as quickly as you can, and avoid it if at all possible. In 2019, over 77% of American households were in debt. Debt can be one of the most controlling and most destructive factors in a lifetime.
Vast amounts of energy are applied in putting and keeping you in debt. Everything we are “supposed to do” financially involves our credit rating, from renting an apartment to getting the best insurance rate. Every pixel that lights up your retina has it’s hand out, so think outside the box before you reach for your credit card.
Imagine how that giant flat screen television is going to look in the landfill in a few years. Think of trying to sell your new luxury SUV on Facebook Marketplace because the dealer is offering you nothing on a trade. Ask yourself why you let that person pretending to be someone else on television inform your opinion on what you need to buy to enjoy the good life.
When you hear a news reader, a pundit, or a politician speak, ask yourself who is paying their salary. Picture them standing in a used car lot trying to sell you a low mileage sedan. Would you believe them if they told you those are actual miles?
When your elected official makes a statement, does it sound plausible? Try imagining the exact opposite is true. If the opposite of what they are saying is also plausible, ask yourself what they are leaving out, and how many times they have lied before.
Historically when the walls break, things can get ugly, and then we all find ourselves outside the box forced to find new solutions to old problems. Better to at least get a foot in the door now. Sadly, esaping the crowded box of political, social and financial coercion involves a lot of healthy skepticism, but it can help to free a tremendous amount of intellectual and financial energy from the requirements of conformity so that it is available for creativity.
We may find that creativity has atrophied while confined in a culture that chooses Nintendo over Noodle Art and prefers to adventure online over walking in the woods. Start with something simple. As an old mentor once suggested, “When you’re faced with a problem, try staring at a tree for a while. Don’t look at the leaves and the branches. See the tree as the spaces in between.”
Outside The Box 