Lateral Thinking: Unlock Your Creative Superpower

Lateral thinking is a superpower.

Cultivate it. It will reward you tenfold, I promise you.

Begin with the belief that you’re a great lateral thinker – then, cultivate the skill. The belief must come first. For just as bravery requires the belief that you are brave, so too creativity requires the belief that you are creative.

We are all born creative. It’s our divine inheritance. But only a handful out of a hundred retain their creativity beyond the age of twelve.

And if you want to cultivate the skill of lateral thinking while having a chuckle, look no further than the brilliant podcast, Lateral. Lateral is a comedy panel show where Tom Scott is joined by three guests each week to ask each other questions with a sideways twist.

Try these sample questions from the show to get your lateral thinking mind limbered up:

• In 1946, the team running John F. Kennedy’s local election campaign persuaded a janitor called “Joe Russo” to run against him, even though Joe had no political experience. Why?
• Why did British police officers start giving out free lollipops to the public on some English streets?
• In Estonia, there is a circumstance where the law says you must NOT wear a seat belt, and you must NOT drive between 25km and 45km per hour. What is that circumstance?

I’ll put the answers in the comments section below. Enjoy your lateral thinking.