In Tamil folklore, there is a story of a lamp that stayed lit even after Sunrise. When the sun asked it why it won’t shut down, the lamp replied “I believe there might be some corner of this land, that isn’t illuminated by your rays. I am here to illuminate that corner”.
The lamp, although with very good intentions, had misjudged itself and the power in front of him. Just like that small lamp, I am trying to embark some wisdom to an already wise and super energetic crowd of readers. With misplaced efforts, but very good intentions.
You may have heard the phrase “Think outside the box” very often. It is a very nice phrase to use in management talks and lectures. But do we ever get to know what thought is inside box and which one is outside? Is only thinking different from others is a sufficient criteria to be termed as outside the box? Or is there anything more to it?
Today, I would like to give you a new Mantra. Think within the box. You don’t need to go out of that box to do something extraordinary. You can perfectly achieve anything, while staying in your box. But…. There is always a but. You need to ask yourself three questions before you decide to think within the box.
1. What is my box?
How would you define the box? What affects your decision making? There are a lot of factors including, but not limited to, the sociodemographics in which you have grown up and live; your personal beliefs; influence of your family and friends; personal beliefs; information available; past experiences; the authority you have in the process etc. There are factors within your own personality, your interpersonal barriers and relations and social factors as well. The combination of all these factors combined makes the box that surrounds your persona. And this box is what helps you in making decisions. In a way, this box is what we call as comfort zone. And when you are thinking and making decision, you prefer your decisions, as well as results of these decision, lay within the comfort zone. It is totally ok if you feel so, but what is important is you perfectly know what your box is. You should know what factors are playing bigger impact on your decision making process and whether your are “really” comfortable with this box.
The idea of box is also in a way related to your potential. The potential to take better decisions and achieve greater feats. Hence, it is really important to realize what your box is.
2. Is my box the right one for me?
After Kansa was killed by Krishna, Kansa’s father in law Jarasandha got furious. To take revenge for making his two daughters widow, Jarasandha took a vow to kill Krishna and destroy his kingdom. Jarasandha attacked Mathura 17 times and Krishna managed to defend his city 17 times. However, when Jarasandha again attacked Mathura, Krishna decided the city by the Yamuna and shifted to a city by the sea, hundreds of miles away. Thus Krishna was named “Ranchhod”, the one who left the battle field.
Krishna knew that the box, within which he was living and ruling, wasn’t right. He tried to make it better but realized that it is not possible. So instead, he changed that box altogether. Don’t we do this often about the things? Mobile not working properly, change it. Chair broken, discard it. Relation getting toxic, snap out of it. We analyze our surroundings very often. And make changes to small misfits. But we very rarely do same analysis for our box.
Once you understand what affects your decision making, like discussed earlier, you need to evaluate every single of these factors. Especially, the factors that had affected your decisions that went wrong. Now you know what factors to not consider while making decision. Whoaaa.. So simple na?
3. Is my box big enough?
This is a very important question to ask. And in every case, the answer is gonna be the same. NO. No box is big enough.
Rama was sent to exile for 14 years, before he could rule Ayodhya and establish Ramrajya. Pandavas were wandering in forests for 12 years and lived in Matsya kingdom for one year, before they could rule Hastinapur. The princes were sent to study in Gurukul, away from their palace. Was there a reason behind this?
In some versions of Ramayana, there is a story about how Rama and Lakshmana bowed to Ravana after Rama’s arrow struck Ravana and he was on his death bed. At this moment, Rama requested Ravana to provide whatever knowledge he can.
The simple reason behind all this is “to expand the box”. Your box is never enough to help you make the best decisions. Human brain is an ever evolving mechanism. The more experiences you take in life, the better equipped your brain becomes. Hence, it is very important to keep the box expanding all the time. You need to make special and concise efforts take new experiences, explore new horizons, learn more stuff, meet more people, have meaningful arguments and make more confident decisions in your life.
While we understand all these concepts about boxes, there is yet another point we must consider.
Pururava, the first Chandravanshi king was ruling a large area from his capital Pratishthan. While he was on a journey, he met Urvashi, the celestial Apsara. Urvashi was on earth for passing some time and Pururava fell in love with her. They together had 6 children. Urvashi left earth after she got bored of earth. After a few generations, Urvashi again came back to earth and saw Arjuna. She proposed Arjuna but Arjuna rejected her moved. The reason being Arjuna was a descendent of Pururava, and thus Urvashi was like a mother to him.
So who is right and who is wrong here? For Urvashi, earthly relations do not matter. For Arjuna, they do. It is important to understand that everyone makes decisions based on his or her own box. And while someone’s actions maybe different than how yours, he has his own set of constraints. It is important to understand that everyone has a different box. His / her box may intersect with yours, or may not. But one must acknowledge and appreciate the existence of these boxes. And one has to also learn to peek into other person’s box before forming an opinion and passing judgment.
I hope, this article managed to create at least a small spark of thought in your mind. Let’s all embrace the spark and lead our life ahead with a brighter light. After all, every great light is ignited by a tiny spark.