3.1 Do you need to challenge your assumptions?

Assumptions and taken-for granted beliefs have the potential to derail thinking. For example, you might not question the givens or dare to speak up and you might assume that other – ostensibly wiser – people have the answers or perhaps are better equipped to make decisions than you. Yet this is not always the case and can, in fact, lead you to undermine your creativity and settle for second best.

Sometimes, however, it is not just bad ideas that can sabotage your thinking. The ideas themselves might be quite worthwhile but they might not be universally applicable. A bad idea in one place is not necessarily a bad idea in another. What might not work or potentially be harmful in one context might actually be helpful in another.