Lateral Thinking
A method for breaking out of restrictive thought patterns by using random input to spark new workable ideas.
Lateral thinking requires breaking out of a current mental pattern that is restricting us. The pattern is often subconscious and we notice it through experiencing resistance to an idea — the “no” effect. This means we might need to entertain ideas that we habitually or instinctively reject.
A useful technique to break into a new pattern is “random input.” A random, apparently unrelated idea may seem unhelpful, but if you work with it, it loosens your mental pattern and leads to a new workable idea. These ideas act as “stepping stones” to new ideas.
Lateral logic says that you cannot analyse your way to a creative idea. But if you make the leap (“what if?”) and get the idea (any way that works), you can then reverse-engineer the logic and make it stand up to conventional analysis.
Exercise Instructions
Choose a problem area you are having difficulty with and where you feel some kind of barrier or blockage.
In the red box, make some notes on the current situation.
Use a random input generator for an “unconnected” idea and write the idea into the green box. Try more than one.
Hold the green idea in the midst of the ideas in the red box and observe any new thoughts.
Develop these and note them in the yellow box.
Revisit your original problem and pick the most promising new idea to work on further and try it out.
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