How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life pdfdrive com

5. Get Out of Your Box
Actress Katharine Hepburn remarked, “If you obey all the rules… you will
miss all the fun.” While I don’t think it’s necessary to break all the rules (many
are in place to protect us), I do think it’s unwise to allow self-imposed
limitations to hinder us. Creative thinkers know that they must repeatedly break
out of the “box” of their own history and personal limitations in order to
experience creative breakthroughs.
The most effective way to help yourself get out of the box is to expose
yourself to new paradigms. One way you can do that is by traveling to new
places. Explore other cultures, countries, and traditions. Find out how people
very different from you live and think. Another is to read on new subjects. I’m
naturally curious and love to learn, but I still have a tendency to read books only
on my favorite subjects, such as leadership. I sometimes have to force myself to
read books that broaden my thinking, because I know it’s worth it. If you want to
break out of your own box, get into somebody’s else’s. Read broadly.
Many people mistakenly believe that if individuals aren’t born with
creativity, they will never be creative. But you can see from the many
strategies and examples I’ve given that creativity can be cultivated in the
right supportive environment.
Thinking Question
Am I working to break out of my “box” of limitations so that I explore
ideas and options to experience creative breakthroughs?

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Employ Realistic Thinking
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.”
—M
AX
D
E
P
REE
, C
HAIRMAN
E
MERITUS OF
H
ERMAN
M
ILLER
, I
NC
.
As anyone knows who’s been out of school for a few years, there’s usually a
huge gap between a college education and the reality of the working world.
Honestly, early in my career, I went out of my way to avoid too much realistic
thinking because I thought it would interfere with my creative thinking. But as
I’ve grown, I’ve come to realize that realistic thinking adds to my life.

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REALITY CHECK
Reality is the difference between what we wish for and what is. It took some
time for me to evolve into a realistic thinker. The process went in phases. First, I
did not engage in realistic thinking at all. After a while, I realized that it was
necessary, so I began to engage in it occasionally. (But I didn’t like it because I
thought it was too negative. And any time I could delegate it, I did.) Eventually, I
found that I 
had
to engage in realistic thinking if I was going to solve problems
and learn from my mistakes. And in time, I became willing to think realistically
before
I got in trouble and make it a continual part of my life. Today, I encourage
my key leaders to think realistically. We make realistic thinking the foundation
of our business because we derive certainty and security from it.

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