Get More Aha Moments

Not having any "aha" moments lately? This might be why.

I recently had to reboot my computer... all of you tech people are going to be very upset with me, but my computer had been on for months. Meaning, I had not needed to put my password in for months.

When I rebooted it, I went to put my password and I did not remember it. I thought "Laine, what is wrong with you? This is your computer password, you have done this a million times." I sat there for an embarrassing amount of time trying to remember this password.

I became so frustrated with myself that I ended up saying "forget it, I will do it later.”I got in the car and drove to the grocery store.

Upon returning home, I open the front door, and immediately it hits me. Oh wait, I know my password. I go, I put it in and all was well. But here is the thing, this happens to all of us all the time and this is why:

Dr. Mark Beemen from Northwestern University did a groundbreaking neuroscience study that showed that we try to force insights from a logical perspective. 

The creative ideas, the insights, the "aha" moments actually come from unintentional processing. What does it all mean? 

It means that the reason you have come up with all those great ideas in the shower or while on a job is because that is how our mind actually works. It draws from our experiences and helps us come up with new ideas.

What does this mean for you? A great practice in the workplace is to throw a new idea, or a question to your team, let them stew in it for a week or two and then come back to the table and discuss what their ideas are. 

Give them time to unintentionally process. Give them a little teaser as to what it is you all need to accomplish and just let it sit in their minds. Let the brain do the hard work. 

Go take that walk in the middle of the day. It might be just what you need to get inspired. 

For more other inspiring ideas that will kick-start your creativity, head over to the Business Lab with Laine Schmidt podcast.