Another name for sideways thinking is removing focus. Maybe there is a situation that has been occupying you for a long time; you can’t see a way forward.  You would like some direction on it because you’re tired of spinning your wheels. Chances are, it’s very hard for you to stop spinning your wheels because it is now your habit to be preoccupied by this situation.

 

 

More focus is the last thing you need here.  In fact, you need the opposite. You need a way of removing focus. This is where sideways thinking comes in.

You want to ask a question of this situation.  How can I help?  What can I say?  Should I remove myself? How?  What should I do next?  How shall I proceed?

Frame the exact question you want to ask of that situation. Pose that question.

 

 

At the same time, visualize your situation as a can of colored smoke.  When you pose the exact question you want to ask of the situation, you open the can.

 

 

You know that it is going to take some time for that smoke to get out and give you the full message that you want. Would you settle for less than a complete and satisfying answer, because you forced the answer with your impatience? Would you take a cake from the oven half-baked? Would you pick a flower that was still in the bud?

No one would do this.

 

 

Knowing this, it is easy for you to decide to go and do something else for a while, letting the smoke exit the can in all its wantonness and glory. You will know when it is time to come back.  You will know your answer when it comes. But for now, you know how to distract yourself.

 

Sideways thinking is letting go