William Deresiewicz addressed the difficulty of not having time to consider when he observed, "I find for myself that my first idea is never my best thinking." My initial idea is always someone else's; it's always what I've already heard about the issue, always common sense. I have to work hard to think beyond that, to come up with my own solutions or at least new ways of looking at things. - William Deresiewicz Your first thought is never your best thought because it's usually the most obvious one. If you really wanted to know what you should do, you'd probably guess it. Most people don't like guessing games, so they avoid them whenever possible. This means that most people never try to solve problems because they fear they might get it wrong. They'd rather not take a chance and so they never act, which is exactly what they want from life. The more you think about something, the better you understand it. The more obvious it is, the less likely you are to see how another person could view the issue differently. If you never think outside the box, you'll never find anything new, which is why many great ideas have come from seemingly nowhere. It's difficult to think outside the box when everything around us tells us there's only one right answer.