Stuck in the middle of a puzzle? Feeling irritated trying to remember a name that was supposed to be on the tip of your tongue? Brainstorming for a new idea to take your business to new level with no luck? Trying to find a seemingly non-existent solution to a problem? Finding yourself at the end of your wits or questioning your mental facilities? Hang on. You might have missed out on something crucial.
The Eureka! moment which lights up that bulb and brings us that missing piece of information is a process rather than a sudden burst of intellectual energy. Process quite similar to the cooking of soup broken down into three simple steps. First, collecting the ingredients which the recipe calls for and cleaning and chopping them. Second, throwing them in together and letting the soup to steep and bubble and stew and fume. Finally, stirring, tasting and melting in the delicious taste of your culinary product.
The same method and technique is required if you are looking for inspiration for your next piece of writing, or for creating a fabulous design. The first step would be jotting down the initial ideas, running your initial research and looking at other similar works. If it is a puzzle you want to solve, you choose your strategy and make your attempts. This is similar to feeding your brain some raw material, as the bringing of ingredients together in the soup.
The second step would be to just get out of your head. Take a walk, read a book, play a game, take a shower or just be lazy. Do something that relaxes you. Let the information simmer in your brain like you would let the soup in the pot to develop that richness of flavor. Let your mind wander. Don’t you worry; the subconscious mind is still at work making new neural connections and working at the problem.
And when you least expect it, your aha-moment will catch you dumbfounded! The aha moment hits in the form of an instant realization , a sudden awareness of new possibilities , or a magical solution . This moment is brought about with such a vivid, intense and awe-inspiring thought that it stands out from all other ordinary , mundane ones.
Aha-moment can give you a new perspective, explain a joke, or bring about a clue. If It brings “the Answer” or “the Solution”, then CHEERS! It is a job well done. Sometimes, the aha moment can just bring a completely new idea in your head; an innovation. If it seems like a promising idea, make sure to jot it down, work it out, and see where it takes you. You never know where an aha-moment can lead to. Microsoft, Apple, Law of gravity are some of the fabulous results that have originated from some simple aha-moments.
We often go wrong at the second step; instead of letting the brain relax and work its magic, we stress ourselves out. We continue to work so hard with the determination that burning the candle at both ends will bring the answer.
Essayist Tim Kreider wrote in The New York Times. “The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration—it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.”
Sherlock Holmes, the famous fictional detective, would pace for days and nights when stumped or baffled by a case. When endless brainstorming efforts won’t bring him any answers, he would retreat to his laboratory, work on a different problem, or engage in one of his other hobbies, and pretty soon his aha moment would dawn on him.
Didn’t you experience it many a times already? When you stopped struggling to remember something or decided to give up the brainstorming, it hit you out of the blue, and caught you by surprise. Too often we link the sparking of life changing ideas to certain events and personalities. However, in reality it was just you embracing the second step of the process (Having done your homework already i-e the first step) .
In a nut shell, without the initial efforts and struggles, new ideas won’t dawn. Neither would compelling motivation to take immediate-world-changing-action JUST happen out of the blue. As much as work is crucial to brain’s health, relaxation and playing is too. Just as a soup would be tasteless if not allowed to simmer, ideas won’t hatch when brain is not allowed enough rest. Not all problems can be solved by mere focus. Right balance between work and play is the secret to inspiration.
Do take a moment to share your thoughts and aha-moment or your insights with us. What do you think?
