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Santosh Sharma

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Thinking outside the box is not enough . . . Dissolve the box and Reposition

If you ask a thief to think outside the box what will he do? Probably he will steal better and find out new ways to manipulate the laws because he still responds from the platform of the thief.

But if the same person dissolves the box he will no longer limit and abuse himself. He will realize that stealing is just a trap from which he is responding and that he is much more than merely a thief. At the same time he gets the designing intelligence to reposition himself. It's not just an incremental but a radical shift.

Just like the thief, individuals and organizations are also limiting and abusing themselves thereby infecting and polluting their decisions.

Out of the box solutions do not solve the problem. They only create bigger and trickier problems in the future. The answer lies in Dissolving the box. It is important for an intelligent, inclusive and sustainable growth.

By dissolving the mental boxes we can design growth, increase our coping mechanisms, lead unconditionally to see deeper, wider and faster into situations.

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Topics: Sustainable Innovation colaborative innovation creativity for profit organization happiness leadership life science sustainability technology
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    Don Ruch

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    Apr 30 2012: Build your own box which can encompass the old box or not. The new box requires inovation and a desire to make the old way better.

  • Eric Hazelle

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    Apr 1 2012: One of my favorite topics; thanks, Santosh, for bringing it up. I'm a great believer in Yin and Yang, balance. I think we need both the box and the creativity and courage to think outside it. Beethoven knew all the rules for making music, (the box), but he also knew when to break and shatter those rules. Same with Mozart. We are standing on the shoulders of giants; jumping off their shoulders then complaining we can't see the view doesn't make sense. My son is studying music composition. His piano teacher has him learn "How High the Moon"; then, she assigns him to improvise on it wherever he feels inclined. He's come up with some attractive additions to this old standby. He's learning to write down ideas as they come to him so he'll remember and implement them. (He has some phone app for that I don't understand; the older I get, the more loops I'm out of . . . or, the more boxes I'm comfortable remaining in. Sad, I know.)
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    Linda Taylor 50+

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    Mar 31 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM8JhvfoqdA

    An example of dissolving boxes using boxes.
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    Linda Taylor 50+

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    Mar 30 2012: Oh my gosh! There's there's this box and I'm supposed to be in it. I don't know where the box is or what it looks like. I don't know how to find it or who has it...

    I remember saying that one time to a family member after an evaluation session with my boss. I don't even acknowledge the box.

    But remember, a world without boxes for some people means a world without boundaries. Boundaries are necessary if we work at all with other people. So you have to balance the concept of the box with the concept of appropriate boundaries. It is not acceptable to function outside of boundaries.

    What messes many people up is, if they are asked to color outside the lines of the box, the world turns into chaos. They need to understand that dissolution of the box does not mean boundaries are gone.
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      Santosh Sharma

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      Mar 31 2012: Thanks Linda!

      You are absolutely right. We mistake our compulsions (when we respond from boxes) as our freedom. and this is the cause of all problems. When we dissolve our boxes there is intelligence, balance, respect, design and inclusiveness.
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    edward long 100+

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    Mar 30 2012: I think the box is a metaphor representing the way we have done things in the past. To summarily abandon all history and experience is unwise. The bathwater may be dirty, but we must take care not to throw out the baby with it. Some, but certainly not all, things are worth keeping!
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      Santosh Sharma

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      Mar 31 2012: Thanks a lot Sir for your inputs.

      Just to take "Dissolve the box" idea further lets understand what happens when we dissolve the box :

      We are absolutely aware of our past learning but at the same time we have the designing intelligence and the freedom to design our future. The past learning does not become dominant to take us over. They are not crystallized but we just aware of them. And all this happens when we practice silence-acceptance of the present. This dissolves all our boxes and takes us to the fertile firld of consciousness from where we can design the future. But if we resist the present and don't accept it we react from a troubled platform. Just recollect when you are angry or resisting something the field from which you respond gets very restricted and unintelligent. So let's dissolve the box for a better life and a better world.
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        edward long 100+

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        Mar 31 2012: The word in question here is "dissolve". It means to break up; to decompose; to disunite; to disintegrate; to end; to terminate. I agree with your well spoken explanation of your design philosophy, but I do suggest you consider another word to replace "dissolve". May I suggest the idea of "balance", or "integrate", or "glean"? Thank you Mr. Sharma for sharing your interesting viewpoint.
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      Santosh Sharma

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      Mar 31 2012: Thank you Sir for your comments!

      Dissolve teh box does not mean we forget the past. It just means we should not get hooked to the past. Now we are aware of the past but they do not become dominant to take us over. We have the freedom and the designing intelligence to design our future. It happens when we practice silence-acceptance of the present. and then act. This takes us to the fertile fied of consciousness from where we can act. When we are angry or when we resist the present we only react from limited boxes and not from this field of consciousness.
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    Santosh Sharma

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    Mar 30 2012: Hi Peter!

    In fact picking up the box is something that is unnatural and this gives us pain. We get hooked to our boxes ( likes, dislikes, habits) and we build a character out of it. And when the present does not match with it, there is inner turmoil., stress and our coping mechanism is challenged. Practice "silence-acceptance of the present." Now you will accept the present as it is without comparing it with your boxes. This allows you to design the future as you are not hooked. Some people have already been practicing it. Organizations like companies, sports clubs are alo dissolving the boxes to design their solutions. Now we do not control but design. In case you find it difficult i would love to help you out. :) Regards.

  • Peter Oxley

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    Mar 30 2012: I see what you are saying.
    Also I think it is next to impossible to deliberately think outside of the box. This creates a box in itself.
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