Really Thinking Outside the Box

It’s not what you think. It’s not defying conventional wisdom or coming up with a new and revolutionary approach. This is a different metaphorical box. It’s the one that others would lock you in.

Pigeon Holed You

We like to categorize and name things as a way to understand them. We also do this so that we can communicate about things with others. Unfortunately, this categorizing too often extends to other people.

We identify others in ways that defines and limits them. Worse still, sometimes they accept these limitations as being true.

Some of your clients put you in the box that identifies you as the value creator around only what it is you sell and deliver. They don’t always see your ability to help them with other problems, challenges, and opportunities.

Some of you peers lock you in a box called “sales rep,” pretending that all of the value you create is created on the outside of the organization, not recognizing what you might really contribute.

Some of the people put you in a box because they want you to be what they want you to be—or need you to be.

Some people put you in a box as a way to protect themselves from the threat of having to bring their A-game to match your A-game.

And some would put you in a box, preventing you from being all that you can be and making the contribution you could make, to protect their turf (those unholy guardians of the status quo).

Be All That Un-boxed You Can Be

You break free from the artificial constraints of others by being all that you can be. You break free by not allowing anyone else to define you and by instead defining yourself.

You release yourself from the box by rejecting the limitations that others would place on you, especially the limitations they place on you only because they can’t accept what your power would require of them—that they accept and embrace their own power.

You free yourself of the limiting expectations of others when you do what you need to do to be who you need to be—the best and most complete version of you. If you are all that you can be, it won’t be long before people start putting you in the very lonely category of people who are not easily or willingly stuffed into any box.