How to re-create lightbulb moments and think creatively whenever you want
Why training the brain to re-create those ‘lightbulb’ moments can help your sales team achieve more of their objectives, more often
Where were you the last time you had a ‘lightbulb’ moment?…
You know the ones. That amazing idea or solution to a long-standing problem that pops into your head when you least expect it.
You might have been in the shower…perhaps mowing the lawn… or cooking dinner… Maybe you should have been listening to someone or something important but zoned out due to the magnitude of the idea that suddenly hit you, like the apple falling on the head of Newton.
We’ve all been there. And that’s the beauty of an ‘aha moment’.
We’re all capable of those ‘aha moments’ — we just need to understand the environment and stimulus our brain needs to solve a problem
then we can have those breakthrough moments whenever we want!
We've been looking into the science behind how the brain ‘Eurekas’
The brain is split into two main parts — the left and right hemispheres.
On the left are your rational thoughts and analytical processes, while the right-hand side is focused more on your emotions, which includes creativity and abstract thinking.
The right side is interconnected with other parts of the brain on a far more substantial level compared with the left side — and this is where those ‘aha’ moments come from.
When you’re thinking about a particular problem or striving for that so far elusive idea, your brain combines your previous experience and knowledge and starts to connect all the pieces of the puzzle to provide an answer.
Because the right side of your brain has all those connections, it’s constantly reaching out for information from elsewhere — like phoning a friend or asking the audience on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ..
However…
The intense brain activity that leads to those moments of clarity and inspiration can’t be forced.
It comes when the brain is in an alpha state — basically, when it’s relaxed.
That’s why our best problem solving ideas come when we least expect it.
Just like your physical self needs time to rest and grow, your brain’s subconscious needs to be able to process the vast amount of knowledge and information you have in order to put up its hand and suggest an answer.
The only way it can do this is without distraction and without the other thought processes and stresses that can consume so much of your working day muddying the waters.
Why is this more challenging right now? …
With so many of us working from home nowadays those moments of down-time, where your brain is in the best place to highlight amazing ideas and answers more effectively, are fewer and further between.
We may not have realised it but we’re actually missing the daily commute!
The walk to and from the Underground station.
The zoned-out Tube journey.
The drive into the office.
Those auto-pilot moments are all ideal breeding conditions for great ideas and solving problems you may have convinced yourself were un-solvable.
We’re not suggesting a return to commuting! But ..
The key is to find ways to replace or replicate those auto-pilot moments — to identify when those creative, inspired moments of thinking are most likely to occur.
To re-create them.
To harness the subconscious part of our brains so we can readily solve all those problems and challenges that are buzzing round our heads and be more creative and more productive — with or without the daily commute!
What this means for your sales team
If your account teams have ever been on a full-day or week-long training course, you’ll know the sheer amount of content that needs to be digested can mean that as little as 5% is actually absorbed and implemented...
It takes us back to giving the brain time and space to breathe and process.
That’s why our Thoughtful National Account Training is chopped up in to bite sized pieces spread across a week so new habits are formed, and stronger skills are embedded.
Our training course, Setting Effective Objectives explores this skill in more detail, encouraging your teams to identify ways to make their minds work for them, rather than against them.
Please contact us if you'd like to discuss how we can help you energise and increase the performance of your national account teams.
[A condensed version of this article was first published by Dynamic Reasoning on medium.com]