Thinking Outside the Inside of the Box

When it comes to being creative or planning strategies or practices, you often hear the words, “You’ve gotta think outside the box.”

I completely understand the heart behind the “outside the box” statement.

It’s meant to stretch us,
to challenge our thinking.

But….

While attempting to think outside the box, we often abandon the inside of the box.

What I mean is that we forget about the basic principles that we have always lived by in an attempt to do something new.

We try to get creative in reaching more people,
forgetting that relationships have always been key.

We attempt to create a new environment,
forgetting that it’s ultimately about following what God says.

We try to dream up new ways of making income,
and slack up at our current job.

So the result is that we have a great new plan but often leave out the foundational principles that we must hold onto in order to be successful.

Don’t abandon the inside of the box while looking around the outside.

Your thoughts or experiences??

Lessons From Fruit Ninja

Keeping with my life lessons from ____ posts (read those here & here), I thought I’d give Fruit Ninja a try.

If you’ve never played Fruit Ninja, the concept is quite simple. Fruit flies up from the bottom of the screen and you have to use your finger to slice the fruit before it goes back down off the screen. Occasionally, you get other stuff flying that isn’t fruit… it’s important that you don’t slice this stuff. If you do, the game is over. The object is to slice as much fruit as possible. That being said, here are 3 lessons we can learn from this addictive mobile phone game…

1. Know Your Target.

In Fruit Ninja, your target is the fruit. In life, we have to learn what our target (or calling) is. If we spend our time chasing everything that comes across as an opportunity, chances are, we don’t achieve anything. We have to know what we were meant to do. Where our passions lie and where our gifts are help determine what our target is. Of course, ultimately, we have to hear God speak and tell us our target.

2. Know Your Method.

When playing Fruit Ninja, the method is slicing. Touching the screen with your finger does not good, you have to make a slicing motion. In life or ministry, we have to pursue our target with the right method. It’s not just enough to know where we’re going, we have to have a plan and a strategy for getting there.

3. Know Your Limits.

Playing Fruit Ninja means you don’t slice anything but the fruit. If you try to do too much, the game is over. In life, leadership, and ministry, it’s much the same way. We all have limits. It doesn’t matter how talented or gifted we are, we’ll eventually run out if we don’t limit ourselves on what we do and how much time we spend doing it. It’s important that we take regular times to get away, recharge, and retreat.

If you’ve played Fruit Ninja, what can you learn?