Blowing up the boxes
Oh, hi friends!
What does “outside the box” thinking mean to you?
I understand “inside the box” thinking. Isn’t that when you have an idea, and you apply it in ways that you already know?
This idea can be a funny cartoon. We always have catch-up meetings on Fridays. This premise is an 800-word article that so-and-so editor might take.
We like boxes because they’re easy. They’re tidy.
But going outside the box, well, doesn’t that sound a little more...interesting?
It would be hard to completely implode our norms (except, oh wait, we just did!). But we might begin by expanding our thoughts about our work by simply rejecting the boxes that we already use.
If you’ve always made funny cartoons, make a serious video instead. If you always meet on Friday, why not switch to Monday — and why not invite a few more people? If you only write 800-word stories, what happens when you try 80 words — or what about 8,000?
If you want to think outside the box, first you have to blow up the box.
I took this photo yesterday, another day in the most beautiful city in the world. This is midway through our bike route in industrial Red Hook, Brooklyn (the route is specifically tailored to take us by as many feral cat colonies as possible). The water was choppy, but there’s the tiny Statue of Liberty shining in the distance.
We happened to be biking back on Clinton Street at 7pm and passed dozens of people, young and old, outside their apartments and sticking their heads out third-floor windows, banging pots and pans, drumming trash cans, honking horns and tubas, and hooting at the top of their lungs for health care workers. This is New York’s daily ritual.
It reminded me of the feeling you get on marathon day — we’re all in this, together.
Do you need a coach right now?
This is definitely a time of transition, in more ways than I can count. If you’re looking for a relationship, career, or health coach, I wanted to direct you to my friend Susannah Ludwig, who specializes in helping people create positive change in their lives. She’s offering two free coaching sessions for anyone seeking support during this challenging time. Here’s her website and you can email her susannah@susannahludwig.com — (she’s also posting inspiring videos on Instagram, give her a follow!).
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara