Linear Thinking vs Lateral Thinking -

Every single day we use a number of mental models to help us navigate our increasingly complex world.

Some of these mental models were learned intentionally and deliberately.

Most, though, we pick up just going through life recognizing patterns – and through (sometimes better) experience, of course!

And while the overwhelming majority of these mental models all help us to lead happier, more productive, and more successful lives, sometimes if we fall into the “pattern trap” of thinking the same way we always have we can end up in very sticky situations.

Linear thinking in particular tends to be very rigid, very process oriented, and not all that malleable.

Lateral thinking, on the other hand, is a bit of an “end around” way to approach problems, obstacles, and unique life situations. It’s possible to come up with more creative, innovative, and novel solutions when you flex your lateral thinking muscles.

This is not to suggest, though, that lateral thinking is superior to linear thinking (or vice versa).

Both of these approaches to problem-solving have their place. You’ll need both of them to achieve the kinds of goals you set for yourself (especially if they are lofty).

To learn more about the distinction between linear thinking and lateral thinking check out the inside info we highlight below!

Contents

1 What is Linear Thinking?

2 What is Lateral Thinking?

3 Am I a Linear or Lateral Thinker?

3.1 Common Traits of Linear Thinkers

4 Common Traits of Lateral Thinkers

5 Can Linear Thinking Be Learned and Mastered?

6 Embracing New Ways to Overcome Obstacles and Solve Problems

7 References

What is Linear Thinking?

Linear thinking is sometimes described as “default mode” for human beings.

The truth is that most of our thoughts – and a significant amount of our behavior – happens almost on autopilot, sort of like someone else was steering the ship.

That mystery pilot is our life experience.

Everything we see, everything we hear, everything we read, and everything we learn combined together to create the tapestry of our lives.

When we bump into similar situations over and over again we draw from our wealth of experience to shortcut the problem solving process. We remember what worked in the past, we remember what didn’t – and why – and we try to “play the tape back again” to get similar results once more.

Linear thinking is very literal, is very logic based, and is always restricted to the “box” of our knowledge and experiences.

If it’s not something that we bumped up against in the past we go seeking for someone that has dealt with these situations, leveraging their experience to get the results that we are after.

Linear thinking is especially powerful when it comes to relatively simple problems and obstacles.

You wouldn’t want to be a lateral thinker with mathematics, for example. You need objectivity and a single, concrete, “real” answer.

Because so many of our day-to-day problems are relatively simple in the grand scheme of things we get a lot of opportunity to flex our linear thinking muscles.

Most of the educational system (not just in the US but around the world) invests a significant amount of time, energy, and effort into training up that these linear thinking muscles, too.

It’s no surprise that this is our default mode.

We like to fall into the habit of linear thinking. We like to simplify complexity. We love to look for ways to shortcut things – and using past experience to decide how to overcome an obstacle today is almost like a “cheat code”.

At the same time, though, there are some very real and concrete limitations to linear thinking.

As soon as you are thrown a curveball the loop and pattern that worked in the past falls apart completely. Now you’re dealing with a brand-new obstacle, one that linear thinking is ill prepared to overcome.

That’s where lateral thinking comes into play.

What is Lateral Thinking?

Lateral thinking is (generally) described as a much more creative, much more malleable, and much more “free” way of overcoming problems and obstacles.

This is an approach to thinking that is not necessarily “time-based” (you don’t exclusively rely on past experiences, yours or someone else’s, to come up with a solution) but instead leans heavily into creativity, spontaneity, intuition, and free-form research.

Albert Einstein was talking of lateral thinking when he said, “no problem can be solved with the same level of consciousness that created it”.

With lateral thinking you are looking for ways to break a paradigm, create new connections, unlock new opportunities, and may arrive at multiple solutions instead of just a singular “right” answer.

Of course, this isn’t to suggest that lateral thinking is superior to lateral thinking, either.

It’s easy to get lost in a fog of creativity and imagination, never grounding yourself in the reality of the task at hand and allowing scope creep to fuzzy your effectiveness.

It’s also really easy to get sucked into the trap of reinventing the wheel over and over again, especially when you are bumping up against relatively simple problems and obstacles that have already been effectively resolved.

To be a truly effective thinker you really need to find a way to balance both of these approaches, leveraging the right one at the right time.

Kind of like using a hammer to drive a nail and a screwdriver to turn a screw.

The right tool for the right job.

Am I a Linear or Lateral Thinker?

As we mentioned a moment ago, the great majority of people automatically default to more linear thinking than lateral thinking – in part because that’s just the way humans are wired (we learn through our experience and experience of others) as well as the way our educational system is structured.

Some folks, though, are natural born lateral thinkers that tend to be a little more creative, think a little more outside the box, and are willing to use reasoning that can’t necessarily be defined by a specific process to come up with effective solutions.

Which one are you?

Common Traits of Linear Thinkers

Logic and Reason Focused

Linear thinkers are a lot more comfortable with logical, reason focused efforts to solve problems and overcome different obstacles.

These kinds of thinkers are often very deliberate, very intentional, and sometimes even break down bigger proms into smaller chunks to tackle them in succession.

Process Oriented

Unsurprisingly, linear thinkers are also a lot more prone to being process oriented.

These kinds of thinkers like to have a more systematic and “proven” approach to problem-solving. They like to move step-by-step, very methodically, from start to finish through all of the problems and obstacles they bump up against.

It isn’t at all unusual for these kinds of thinkers to have very specific and clear goals that have been prioritized, either.

Experience Bias

Linear thinkers are always going to look for past methodologies, proven “shortcuts”, and other experiences that either mesh with their own or produce even better results that they can sort of copy and mimic.

Some of the most effective and successful people on the planet use this approach to get incredible results. This is something that legendary success coach Anthony Robbins calls modeling.

You find someone that has what you want, you find out what they do to get that, and then you do the exact same thing.

It’s a linear process with clear progression, getting you from A to B to C (and so on) until you arrive at your ultimate destination.

Common Traits of Lateral Thinkers

Lateral thinkers, though, take slightly different approaches to coming up with new solutions.

Mission Oriented

Where linear thinkers are much more focused on the process to get somewhere lateral thinkers (usually) really only care about the end result.

They don’t mind skipping steps. They don’t mind thinking outside of the box. And they don’t mind coming up with completely new and sometimes radical ways to do things if it gets them the result that they are looking for.

These kinds of thinkers are very mission oriented.

Multi Directional Thinking

On top of that, lateral thinkers are usually comfortable jumping from one idea to another – sometimes bouncing around almost frenetically to try and come up with new connections, find new relationships between disparate ideas, and see how all of those things could intertwine to come up with novel solutions.

Multi directional thinking is inevitably very stressful.

It doesn’t have the clear, well-organized, systematic kind of breakdown that linear thinkers are a lot more comfortable with.

Lateral thinkers can not just survive in the midst of chaos, with all kinds of ideas swirling around, but often thrive in those types of situations.

Creative and Willing to Experiment

No surprise here, but lateral thinkers are (as a general rule) a little more creative and willing to experiment. Sort of “coloring outside the lines”, so to speak.

This isn’t to suggest that linear thinkers are somehow unable to be creative or have a fear or aversion to experimentation.

It’s just that the linear thinking process (being so rigid and systems focused) rarely – if ever – leaves room for that kind of creativity and for that kind of experimentation.

Lateral thinking, though, demands that sort of blank canvas with everything thrown at it to see what sticks.

Lateral thinkers always try to come up with new and novel ways to approach obstacles, probing for weak spots or gaps that can be exploited and often coming up with innovative solutions along the way.

Embracing of Failure as a Necessary to the Process

At the end of the day, lateral thinkers are very comfortable with failure and recognize it as one of the most important teachers of success.

Linear thinkers move through their step-by-step processes to avoid failure. They like to be efficient, they like to move quickly, and while they are willing to experiment to improve the speed and efficiency of their solutions they aren’t willing to sacrifice their results.

Linear thinkers understand that failure is a huge piece of the puzzle.

Sometimes the only way to generate real, meaningful, and tangible results that become the new paradigm.

Can Linear Thinking Be Learned and Mastered?

You bet!

In fact, the “father of lateral thinking” Edward de Bono has always been adamant about the fact that creativity and imagination are not latent talents but can instead be learned, honed, and developed like any other skill.

Sure, some people have a greater sensitivity to linear or lateral thinking as their natural disposition.

Some people are just more naturally creative and imaginative than others. That’s just the way things shake out.

But anyone – ANYONE – serious about becoming a more effective lateral thinker can train themselves to see things in new ways, to combine and different principles and ideas to come up with something new, and master lateral thinking.

Even better, it can happen a whole lot faster than most people realize!

Embracing New Ways to Overcome Obstacles and Solve Problems

All that said, lateral thinking isn’t something that’s just going to happen for you (or anyone else).

Because lateral thinking is so different from linear thinking (because linear thinking is the dominant way we’ve been taught to see the world around us) it’s going to take a little bit of extra effort – especially in the early stages – to teach yourself to be a lateral thinker.

Once you achieve escape velocity, though, and start to groove different lateral thinking exercises and techniques into your very being, it all becomes second nature. It’s just like tying your shoe or thinking linearly at that point!

This is the goal, though.

It all starts by embracing new ways to overcome obstacles and to solve problems that linear thinking hasn’t been able to crack just yet.

Again, becoming a better lateral thinker does not mean that you have to become worse at linear thinking.

Truth be told, by developing your lateral thinking muscles you become an even more effective linear thinker. By combining these two methodologies together, and using the right tool at the right time – and for the right job – you’ll find that your problem-solving capabilities skyrocket.

But it all does begin by seeking out resources for developing these new lateral thinking muscles, practicing the principles and exercises contained within, and pushing yourself to always look for new solutions whenever possible.

Rewire your brain with lateral thinking and you’ll unlock a superpower we all have access to!