Thinking Outside the Box

As some of you might know, I also have a blog I write to, once in a while. Earlier this morning, I was looking for a joke to post and came across this scenario. You may want to get a paper and a pencil so you can write down ideas as you think of ways to solve this situation.

Job Interview Question

You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:
1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect man (or) woman you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

Think before you continue reading. This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.

What would you do? Take a few minutes to think about it.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer.

Never forget to "Think Outside of the Box."

If you stop and think for a moment, all those individuals who, by their labors, made it in life are those individuals who took the time to think outside the box.

How many times have you heard of something or saw something and thought: "I wish I could have come up with that!" I know I have done it plenty of times.

The good news is that there are ways to increase our ability to stretch our minds and improve our solving problem skills. There are ways for us to look at something and with it, create something different.

Here are a few websites to help us think outside the box:
Thought provoking exercises
How to think outside the box with three creativity exercises
Creative thinking games and puzzles

I am not saying that by doing these exercises we will become wealthy (although, some of us might!). I am just saying that by doing these exercises, we will stretch our minds and hopefully be better prepared to come up with solutions for our everyday situations within our family, work, and community.

Would this not be something positive?

Now , have you come up with the solution to the bus stop dilemma? Here is the one published:

He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams."

Again, think outside the box and remember that the box does not need to be square either!