A window cleaner is cleaning the windows on the 25th floor of a skyscraper, when he slips and falls. He is not wearing a safety harness and nothing slows his fall, yet he suffered no injuries. Explain.<!–more–>

Answer: He was cleaning the windows from the inside of the building.

Why was that so hard to answer? We, as humans, have a problem.  The problem is that we don’t tend to think outside of the box. This is a natural phenomenon. Our brains are trained to assume certain things in order to make quicker decisions.

I certainly fall into this pattern just like everyone else. There are times when I don’t see the obvious even when it hits me upside the head. However, some of the most rewarding times of growth in my life have involved thinking outside of the box.

I got pregnant at 16 years old and was told that I couldn’t get an education because I had a baby. Well, why not? I not only got an education, but I got a Master’s degree. Who says that having a baby prevents you from going to school? Thinking outside the box.

I got that degree in counseling and worked my butt off to get licensed, but when I discovered that the stress of the job was too great, I changed careers. What!?! 11 years of college, $117,000 in student loans, and the status of a professional career and you changed careers? So many people feel they have to stay in a career that they don’t like simply because they’ve worked so hard to get there. Thinking outside the box.

I was diagnosed with POTS and told it was incurable. Highly educated people (doctors) told me that steroids were my only option. Who says they have all of the answers? Well, it turns out that they don’t. I don’t have POTS any more, and I don’t take steroids. Just because the doctor says it’s true doesn’t mean it is. Thinking outside the box.

I grew up in cult and was taught that their beliefs were the only way to salvation. Who says they know what they’re talking about? Who made them God? I read the Bible and found out for myself. You probably aren’t surprised to know that I found out they were wrong.  Thinking outside the box.

In fact, I think that growing up in a cult, seeing people blindly believing what a man says because of his status/position, is what made me a person who likes to think outside the box.  Some people may call me a skeptic.  Some may call me untrusting.  Some may even call me rebellious.  They may be right, but I say that I’m independent, inquisitive, and brave.

Where can you begin to think more outside of the box?  Is there an area of your life that you have assumed is the way it is but maybe it doesn’t have to be?  Why can’t you change careers?  Why can’t you accomplish your dream?  Why can’t your body function correctly?  Dare to break through the limits of what man prescribes.