**TL;DR – Rigid thinking can actually limit your understanding of ideas. *Grey thinking* is a strong way to combat complacent thought patterns.** Growing older immediately narrows our thought process to operate more rigidly. Children constantly ask why from a young age, but age begins to solidify certain ideas. It’s even shown the way tests are administered in schools. There is always a single correct answer out of the multiple choice options. It’s almost like we’re conditioned to think rigidly. Though it may teter the line between having an opinion and genuinely acknowledging something, simply calling something good or bad shows the sense that we’re always searching for the ultimate option in thought. [Farnam Street blog](https://fs.blog/2016/06/value-grey-thinking/) states, “These slogans [an ultimate opinion on something] become substitutes for actual understanding, and it’s not as benign as it seems. The slogan isn’t just a shorthand: It replaces thinking for many people, because it’s hard to generate real understanding.” This is where *grey thinking* proves its worth. The world is not black and white, obviously, but it’s easy to acknowledge and hard to put into practice. Certainty should be viewed as a limiting factor. There is a saying that “the dose makes the poison” – the opposite of a slippery slope argument. Rather than having an idea lead into multiple, solidifying an idea with the option to expand it is almost always effective. Farnam Street uses examples such as, “Capitalism is enormously productive but has many limitations” and “college has its pluses and minuses; it works for some and not for others.” How could we possibly arrive at conclusions or solidified ideas with grey thinking? It’s about reprogramming yourself to acknowledge ideas on a continuum. You can continue to assess the importance and effects of thoughts, but immediately categorizing them fuels the detriment of a genuine thought process.

**TL:DR – Often known as the 'my way or the high way' approach to situations and life in general, rigid thinking certainly presents some disadvantages to genuine thinking. However, it should be noted that there are also advantages, as this type of behavior can actually be rather beneficial in some instances.** While it’s true that rigid thinking – which is also known as inflexible thinking, can certainly hinder one from doing certain tasks, ​it can also offer structure and a sense of security which is an important aspect of life. Particularly, if one has the right tools in place. Maude Leroux (2020), an expert trainer at [A Total Approach]( https://atotalapproach.com/2020/04/02/the-positive-side-of-rigid-thinking/) confirms this when she informs us that while there are many children who exhibit inflexible thinking (rigid thinking), there are positive aspects to this behavior. Here she shows us 3 ways in which occupational therapy assists children with their rigid thinking, ultimately providing them with the opportunity to positively experience this type of behavior. The first positive aspect that she explores is how rigid thinking can reduce guess work in a give context or situation. For example, since the world is an unpredictable place and rigid thinkers – due to their inflexible nature, often don’t cope well in settings like this, it would be best to not impose your own inflexible way of thinking onto your child. Instead, focus on encouraging your child – incorporating his/her rigid thinking, as this will facilitate their adaptability to better handle (themselves) in certain situations – not limiting their potential while encouraging them to learn in their own way. Consequently, it's very important not to allow the fact that your child is a rigid thinker to limit him/her from their true potential. The second positive aspect that she looks at is how a rigid thinker copes with an uncertain and chaotic world. So for example, some children might feel as though they need to assign certain labels to things – fitting them neatly into boxes in their mind, since they might become overwhelmed. This behavior should not be entirely discouraged as it is seen as a sort of coping mechanism (coping with uncertainty and gaining a sense of control). As a matter of fact, this is considered normal behavior since to some degree everyone does it. The third and final positive aspect that Leroux addresses is rigid thinking within the context of schooling and therapeutic settings. For example, while children with autism, anxiety, and/or sensory processing disorders do experience school quite differently from those without these challenges, it does not mean that their rigid way of thinking need to restrict them. Moreover, their therapist can help them to learn techniques that will enable them to not just grow but flourish in other settings. So as you can see, occupational therapy serves as an effective way to offer educational support to children with rigid thinking, thereby allowing them not to experience this behavior in a potentially hindering or even dangerous way. Moreover, as long as tools such as therapy take a child-friendly approach, then the child is more in charge of their own process and their own progress - which is a win-win situation if you ask me.