The best things come to those who wait. That might not always be true (I’ve been waiting a very long time to win the lottery) but it’s very often true when it comes to ideas.
You’ll know this if you’ve ever had a ‘eureka’ moment. We struggle to see our way through a problem and then, days later, when we’re relaxed, the solution just pops into our head.
This usually happens to me at slightly inconvenient times; I’m often scrabbling around making notes in the middle of the night, trying not to wake the other half; and it’s very difficult to make notes at all on horseback or in the shower.
But the ideas come to me at those times and in those places for a very good reason; they’re when I’m most relaxed. This is all due to a natural phenomenon, which some call incubation. It means simply that whilst we’re not consciously thinking about something, our subconscious mind can still be working away; like a programme running in the background on your computer.
I’ve had at least two eureka moments in the last week.
The first related to a short story I’d written for our new social enterprise,
Pen48. It’s one of the most popular stories on the website so far (blatant, unsubtle, self-indulgent plug) but I’d had feedback from one member that showed me how one passage, fundamental to the story, could be interpreted in a way that I’d not intended and thereby give offence. I’d immediately rewritten the story but knew at heart that the new version wasn’t quite right either. I continued to struggle with the problem until, helped by a comment another reader made when I asked her about the challenge, the solution suddenly came to me several days later at 4:30am. It was obvious, but I just hadn’t been able to see it. (By the way, I’m especially proud of the feedback culture we’ve created with Pen48; it’s been incredibly valuable to me as an aspiring writer.)
The second brainwave, which came to me in the shower this morning, is a menu change required because of a really exciting development happening on
Trainers’ Library soon, linked to our growing
Remote Delivery options.* It was the answer to a challenge I’d been thinking hard about last week.
Whilst we might feel driven to find a solution immediately in response to a problem or feedback, it can be difficult to find the right one when our brains are busy processing conflicting thoughts and feelings, including less productive ones like defensiveness, frustration and disappointment. Solutions put in place in haste, might end up being a ‘fix’ rather than a truly progressive solution.
It’s often only in moments of calm, when we’re no longer focusing all of our energy on the problem, that the best solutions come to us.
That’s why we really should value thinking and relaxation time; both for ourselves, and our employees. The great challenge is, how do we achieve that in our fast-paced busy lives.
I’ve no idea if there’s any truth in this story, and I can’t recall where it came from, but I remember once reading that an accountant being shown round a famous industrialist’s factory, questioned the value of an employee who appeared to be day dreaming with his feet up on his desk. The entrepreneur’s response was something along the lines of: “Leave him be; his next big idea might change the world.”
I’ve no idea how we translate this to the everyday workplace, but it’s worth reflecting on.
Until next time…
p.s., Watch this space for news that will add even more value to your Full, Consultant or Pro Trainers’ Library membership, without any increase in subscription for existing members.