If you have ever experienced an unexpected insight or profound realization, you know how beneficial they can be in transforming your awareness and understanding. Proactively creating space for “aha” moments includes turning inward, embracing curiosity, and evoking inner knowing.
The key to experiencing meaningful shifts in perspective is to slow down your mind, body, and heart. When you invite in the 3S’s of self-care—silence, stillness, and solitude—the gaps between allow thoughts to naturally emerge.
Furthermore, these pauses can help you boost your communication effectiveness when conversing with others, allowing untapped potential to arise, like how the space between notes makes music.
Observe without judgment.
Your habitual belief patterns and instinctual behaviors influence what you see and experience. Your conscious and unconscious filters—“cognitive distortions”—can generalize, block out, delete, and twist information. By viewing your emotions as rational or irrational thoughts, you can acknowledge them and let them process through you before they become problematic.
Maintaining an unbiased, open, and peaceful state all the time can be challenging, so when you hear yourself thinking or saying “should” or “must,” know you may be passing judgment. The good news is that the more you assess your thoughts, feelings, and actions over time, the more apt you’ll be to catch yourself rather than continue on autopilot.
Moreover, by taking a step back, you can separate yourself from what’s happening, self-regulate, and loosen your attachment to your persona and connected belief system.
Reflect on what you noticed.
Tap into the observation experience. Ask yourself, “What did I see, hear, and feel?” and “What emerged?” Then extract the valuable nuggets to evaluate, “What shift occurred in my thinking?” and “How does this impact my next steps?”
Additionally, here are five ways to discover the unknown and create aha moments.
#1 Capture the details.
Taking a picture or filming a video, record the details of the present moment and situation using your mind. Notice colors and textures of the images and thoughts appearing. Take in your body posture and the energy surrounding you, i.e., the smells, sounds, and any voices you hear. See the nuances and imagine a mirror showing you what wants to surface.
#2 Feel into the experience.
Identify where your focus of attention goes. From an Enneagram viewpoint, Thinkers tend to concentrate on the facts, whereas Doers typically want to jump into action, and Feelers are more concerned with the emotional impacts. Feeling into the experience—mind, body, and heart—helps to distinguish between these impressions and discern what feels spacious and what feels constricted. For example, how are your sensations informing you, and is it full of possibility or keeping you stuck?
#3 Explore the content.
In Gabor Maté’s book “The Myth of Normal,” he emphasizes that our stories—regardless of their accuracy—are consistent with our beliefs, behaviors, and experiences. He shares views that affected his life and clients, like “Saying no is a sign of weakness, I have to be strong,” and “I’m not worthy unless I’m doing something useful.” However, by shifting your mindset, you can establish mantras that accentuate your strengths and capabilities, such as “I’m reliable and responsible” and “I rest to recharge so I’m more effective.”
#4 Visualize new perspectives.
Choose activities that welcome fresh outlooks. Put aside what you already deem as true and imagine “What if” and “What could be?” Perhaps watching TV, listening to a podcast, cleaning your work area, taking a walk, doing a crossword puzzle, or going to lunch with a colleague can fuel inspiration. Witness how being inquisitive, moving your body, and exploring different avenues awakens other parts of you. Document what emerges to decipher and capture any learnings about yourself.
#5 Turn insight into action.
A well-known literary metaphor states, “You’re the author of your own story. You get to wake up each day and decide how your story is written. With every new page comes an opportunity for change and growth.” To believe in your story, you must embody it by being and acting the part. Your Human Design influences the story you believe to be true about yourself. Knowing your blueprint can help you see where resistance and inner critics may be lurking, so you can let go of what is no longer serving you and magnify what is working. Also, Deep Coaching is a powerful way to connect internally and access courage to take small, structured steps toward your goals.
Activate your best with those around you.
Self-leadership is about getting to know yourself better and applying that knowledge to how you interact with others. As a lifelong student, certified professional coach, and consultant, activating the best in others through self-leadership, interpersonal relations, and team dynamics are passions of mine. My approach is personalized and customized, tapping into various assessments, disciplines, modalities, and techniques. Also, check out my “Micro & Mini Service Offerings” and try one session to inspire you. Sign up solo or with another person or group to work on a specific exercise or activity and split the costs! Contact me to get started.