The sociological imagination is a concept developed by sociologist C. Wright Mills that refers to the ability to think imaginatively and critically about the relationship between personal troubles and public issues, linking individual experiences to broader social, historical, and cultural contexts. It involves "thinking oneself away" from the familiar routines of day-to-day life and viewing one's own society as an outsider would, to understand the social forces that shape individual lives and societal patterns. The sociological imagination enables us to see that personal problems, such as unemployment or poverty, are often symptoms of larger social issues rather than simply individual failings, and it encourages us to ask critical questions about the social world and the ways in which it is organised and experienced by different groups of people.