Finding a stolen phone: Using reverse thinking to solve many problems easily
A friend of mine had his mobile phone stolen near the train station, so he asked a friend to send a message to the stolen phone saying: “Hey, the train is about to leave. I couldn’t wait for you, so I had to go ahead. Last time, I owed you $200. I left it in locker A21 at the train station, and the code is 1685.”
Half an hour later, the thief was caught right in front of locker A21 at the train station. Using reverse thinking, many problems can be solved easily.
Instead of panicking and searching around, the friend in this story used reverse thinking to set a trap for the thief. By pretending to be the phone’s owner, he lured the thief to the designated spot and easily captured him.
Clever debt collection: Reverse thinking encourages new, creative ways of thinking, sparking inspiration and promoting creativity
A merchant borrowed $2000 from Hassan and wrote a proper receipt. However, as the repayment deadline approached, Hassan discovered that the receipt was missing, which made him very worried. He knew that without the receipt, the borrower could potentially refuse to repay the money.
Hassan’s friend, upon hearing about the situation, told him to write a letter to the merchant, stating that he owed $2500, instead of $2000.
Hassan, confused, replied, “I lost the receipt, and now I can’t even be sure I’ll get back the $2000. How could I ask him to pay $2500?” Hassan’s friend insisted that he follow the advice, as it would definitely work.
After sending the letter, Hassan quickly received a reply from the merchant, stating: “I borrowed $2000 from you, not $2500, and I will repay it on time.”
When the receipt was lost, Hassan thought he had lost hope of getting his money back. However, thanks to his friend’s advice, he used reverse thinking to “trap” the borrower. Asking for a larger amount than what was actually borrowed scared the borrower into acknowledging the original debt.
Politely getting rid of someone: Reverse thinking takes people beyond traditional approaches and problem-solving methods
There was an old man who liked peace and quiet. However, the area around his house was always filled with children running and playing, which bothered him a lot.
He came up with a plan. He called the children over and said: “This place is usually very quiet. Thank you for coming and making the atmosphere more lively. I’ll reward each of you with 3 pieces of candy.” The children were very happy and came to play every day.
A few days later, he gave each child 2 pieces of candy, then just 1. Gradually, he stopped giving them any candy. The children, feeling both upset and angry, said, “We won’t come here to make things lively for you anymore.”
Thus, the old man was able to regain the quiet space he desired.
The old man in this story cleverly used the “gradual withdrawal” strategy to drive away the children who had been disturbing his peace. By initially being generous with praise and rewards, and then gradually reducing the “rewards,” he made the children lose interest and stop coming to play at his house.
Book example: Reverse thinking encourages creative and breakthrough solutions
A salesperson said to a customer: “We have a book here called ‘500 Reasons Men Come Home Late.’ You absolutely must buy it.”
The customer laughed and asked: “Why?”
The salesperson calmly replied: “Because your husband will buy this book too.”
In this story, the salesperson used reverse thinking to spark the customer’s curiosity. Instead of directly promoting the book, he gave a reason that made the customer feel they “had” to buy it. By “mentioning” the husband, the salesperson succeeded in selling the book.
From the stories above, it’s clear that reverse thinking is a powerful tool in life. It helps us look at problems from different perspectives, finding creative and effective solutions. Practice reverse thinking to open the door to a new world, where you can solve problems more easily.
HRDC collected and shared.
