Lateral thinking: how it works and how to develop?

A step to the left, a step to the right or a jump in place can be regarded as an attempt to escape, or it can be regarded as a transition from logical thinking to lateral. It helps not only to think, but also to live.

The term was coined by a psychologist from the UK - recognized worldwide expert in creative thinking Edward de Bono. The name comes from the English words “lateral” and “thinking,” which means “sideways,” “transverse,” or “lateral.” And so lateral thinking should help “turn off” the usual straight path.

An ideal construction built in the project, of course, can collapse on its own, in case of an error, for example, and lateral thinking can also come to the rescue. It allows you to find unusual solutions to a wide variety of types of tasks, to find a non-standard application for familiar objects.

The British scientist proves that creativity can help not only in business, but also in personal life. To do this, you just need to not miss the thought that sometimes comes at the most unexpected moment and which can leave you just as soon. And of course, In no case should you limit yourself. The knowledge and experience gained throughout life not only helps, but also interferes. Once received a sunstroke, we no longer go out into the heat in the heat without a hat. And that is reasonable. But the fact that we stop believing in love, after once having experienced unrequited feelings, is detrimental to the nervous system and to the body as a whole.

In principle, it is human nature to generalize. “All dogs are evil,” says the one who was bitten by a stray dog ​​in childhood."All women are liars," the teenager, deceived by her peers, is sure. Everything is still ahead, any, even the most bitter experience, is just one of a million options for the development of events, everything is in our hands. That is exactly what an individual with a pronounced ability for lateral thinking will answer both.

Often we hear that a good thought comes later. However, if you think about it, then more often we just lose sight of it. Someone cannot clearly formulate an idea, someone is afraid of experiments, someone is not ready to hear a colleague and a loved one. As a result, banal actions lead to a dead end, although a solution was found long before that. Edward de Bono sure - it is possible to prevent such situations. One of the most effective ways to do this is to take advantage of the following inventions of the Englishman.

No need to run to the hats shop. These hats can be imaginary or they can be made independently in the form of cardboard caps in six colors. Anyone can try on each of them. Perhaps the same person will alternately take advantage of them or different people will put them on. Another option is to exchange hats with each other. It all depends on the purpose of using the method. The main thing is to follow the rules of colors.

• The main color is blue.. A person who has taken this hat to himself will have to lead the process. Listen carefully to the rest, do not miss a single thought of those present and draw the appropriate conclusions.
• The right of the first word goes to the one in the white hat. Its part is informational. He voices numbers, facts, potentialities and so on.
• The owner of the green hat helps the analytics in the white cap. He has a creative task. His destiny is the search for unexpected ideas and alternative ways to resolve the issue.
• Next comes the Little Red Riding Hood. She is full of emotions. In her speech - continuous feelings, possibly based on intuition, as well as the desire or unwillingness to realize what was intended.
• A man in a yellow hat should breathe optimism into the rest. In his speech, there can be exclusively the advantages of translating what was intended.
• After the white stripe comes black. The owner of such a hat should look at the question critically. Describe all its negative aspects, outline all the risks, difficulties that will arise when solving the task, the probability of losses, and so on.

The motto of this method of lateral thinking can be the Russian proverb that The morning is wiser than the evening. If the desired solution does not want to come to mind, postpone the search for an answer. It is likely that he will appear by himself very soon. Indeed, despite the fact that you have delayed the task, the brain continues to work on it independently. Therefore, it is very likely that he will give you a brilliant idea, which, with the hard work of the brain in the same direction, could not "float" to the surface.

Even if it seems that you have found the perfect solution, continue your search. Put your idea aside for a moment and come up with at least one alternative. After all, the most effective ideas can arise precisely when other, optimal at first glance, solutions are called into question. The more options, the better.. Do this at any opportunity. So you train your brain. He will act in different directions automatically. You can teach him how to do this with the help of special exercises.

If the team seems to be stuck, use the surprise effect.. Especially this method will be useful in brainstorming, when you get the feeling that all possible suggestions have been expressed, but the right solution has not come.

To develop lateral thinking, you need to give free rein to imagination. Give her a chance to prove herself every day, and even better - every hour. Read a book or watch a movie - try to come up with the finale of the work yourself. Imagine what would happen to the heroes if they behaved differently. Which could help them in solving a problem. Or, conversely, try to create obstacles for them. Do not be shy of what comes to mind, if it is difficult to do with artistic images, start with magazines and photos on the Internet.

There are other exercises to increase laterality.

• Take any picture and invent a history of its occurrence.. For example, in front of you is a girl on the seashore. How she ended up there, with whom she is resting, which means her smile, where she will go later and so on.
• Raise your eyes to the sky. Choose any cloud. Now determine what it looks like. This is the hero of your new story. How did the cloud appear, why did it become a horse (cat, dog, and so on)? What awaits him beyond the horizon? Stories should be the most incredible.
• Come up with a story similar to the one written by the heroes of the popular Soviet cartoon "Three from Prostokvashino". Remember Uncle Fedor's letter to his parents? Old wool has already circled ... and so on. Your task is to invent your own, unlike any other story.

It is created according to the following rules. We take a fictitious fact as a basis. For example, a woman bought a cat before heading south. Next, you need to find the reason for the actions of the heroine. At the same time, you can use only those questions that provide an exclusively monosyllabic answer - “yes” or “no”.

Perhaps the lady is afraid to get bored on vacation or wants to give someone such a lively gift before leaving. You yourself will be surprised how many options for this behavior can be thought up. And thus, not only develop your imagination, and therefore your lateral thinking, but also diversify your leisure time.

Lateral thinking is not the way to the most productive work of the brain. It makes the process of finding the answer to even the most difficult question entertaining and exciting. Therefore more often let in your life a reason to dream. More often solve logical puzzles. Find unusual use for old unnecessary things. Take your time to throw them out. An old bucket may well become an unusual stool, and a stepladder can turn into ... Think of yourself how best to use it in the “next life”.

Do not be afraid of even your most incredible ideas. Talk about them out loud. Let as many people as possible hear you. It is possible that one of them will turn out to be bolder and more willing to experiment than others, then you will get not only a like-minded person, but, quite possibly, a promising interesting work from a creative leader.

Create, experiment, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Today's mistake tomorrow may be a better idea, or at least an idea that will not make you stumble, but will be regarded as the next step towards the realization of a dream. In them, by the way, one should not limit oneself either. And then everything conceived will certainly come true. But do not forget about traditional ways of achieving results. Lateral thinking cannot completely replace logical. This is only one of the methods, and not a panacea for all ills.