Thinking outside the box. It is a cliché but doing so opens up more worldly possibilities than accepting the norm.

The "Box" is often how children see their education. Michelle Obama described herself as a box-checker, doing what was expected of her. She learned to think outside the box when she met Barack, the "cocky, first year law student who was her summer intern at a prestigious law firm.

Totally agree with George Carlin. This approach used to drive some of my high school teachers crazy because I wouldn't take anything they said as accurate without my own due diligence.