You’re standing in front of two doors. Both look exactly the same, down to the intricate detailing of the grain. The handles are both identical. Even more intriguing, two guards stand in front of these doors. They also look exactly the same. You’ve heard the stories, and you know what you must do.

Behind one of these doors lies endless wealth. Behind the other, utter doom. They are your only ways out of this empty room — you must choose. You may ask the guards one question to decide which door to take, but this knowledge lurks at the edge of your mind: one guard always lies, and one guard always tells the truth.

Which question do you ask?

Disclaimer: if you want to solve the riddle yourself, take some time to ponder the answer but don’t read any further! I am about to reveal the great secret.

The answer you will find plastered across the interwebs, should you become frustrated with searching for the answer yourself, is this: “Which door would the other guard tell me to choose?” The answer I came up with: “Is the liar in front of the door with the treasure?”

I took this answer to the riddle poser, and was immediately given a brisk “no.”

Shattered, I gave up on the riddle, until my friend asked me, “so what was your answer again?” I explained, to the point of drawing a diagram with a stray pen and an unused napkin. My friend became belligerent at the riddle poser, took our art museum worthy depiction of the situation to him, and began arguing my case.

Turns out, I broke the riddle.

There are two reasons I wanted to share this story.

First, always remember the “correct” answer may not, in fact, be the only answer. We live in a world which encourages us to think in ways that align with the majority. One answer is all that is sought to questions. This is known as convergent thinking. However, the opposite of this, divergent thinking, encourages creativity and critical thinking.

If you’ve come this far and have learned to thrive in a box, don’t accept that box any longer.

If you’ve come this far and have been put down for thinking outside the box — my second piece of advice is for you.

Persist. You may be put down the first time or the second or the third. But that does not mean your idea is wrong. It simply means others don’t want to hear. So don’t give them the option. Make your voice be heard.