Expand Your Alternatives

Take some time to try and expand your list of alternatives. We have all heard the phrase “think outside the box”, but how do you do that. The book Smart Thinking for Crazy Times: The Art of Solving the Right Problems by Ian Mitroff lists four categories to consider when thinking about your options: scientific / technical, existential / spiritual, interpersonal / social, and systemic.

Most of us only consider the first category because this is usually where the most obvious choices are found. It is, to use another cliché, where the “low hanging fruit” is found.

Spend time thinking about other aspects of your dilemma. A decision brought up in an earlier post will serve as an example. We moved recently. Initially, we thought we would rent for a short time while looking for a house to buy. Our alternatives were limited to homes listed for sale. Then we thought more about lifestyle questions. How do we really want to live (Existential / spiritual)? What groups of people and activities appeal to us (Interpersonal / social)? These questions not only influenced where we wanted to buy, but also led us to explore the virtues of long-term renting, buying two smaller residences, and even RV living (though this last option was soundly rejected). Through considering other aspects of our move and “thinking outside the traditional box”, we also expanded our list of alternatives.

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