The Fastest Way To Gain New Insights And Innovations

We have all been there.

We are trying to come up with new ideas, and nothing is coming to us.

We are struggling and are left with a complete blank.

We want to accomplish our goal, but our mind is stuck.

We look for new answers to our questions, but all we come up with are things that have already been done (often unsuccessfully).

How do we move out of that?

How do we get new insights and innovations to help us release from the struggle?

The Fastest Way To New Insights And Innovations

The way to get out of these types of funk is to put new information into your mind.

However, it is important to recognize "what" information you are putting into it.

See, we often become stuck because we are simply putting the same, rehashed information into our minds.

As the saying goes, "What got you here can't get you there."

So we put the same information in again, and we get the same results.

Whether it is watching the same news channel, listening to the same speaker, or reading the same book over again and again.

There is value in going back sometimes, of course, but when it is the ONLY thing you go back to it becomes problematic.

Insights require new ideas, new thoughts, and different ways of thinking.

This means you need to look for different news outlets, different speakers, and different books to gain new insights.

This works best when you look outside your expertise.

For instance, many of my best ideas on Leadership have come from studying Physiology.

Many of my best insights on Christianity have come from studying other religions.

Much of how I've become a better Speaker has come from studying Stand Up Comedy.

By looking at what was outside my knowledge, even sometimes what was literally "against" my ideas, I have been able to gain far more application, insights, and innovations than I could have by keeping "in my lane".

Why This Triggers Flow

There are a few reasons this triggers Flow states.

One of the major aspects is that it fuels Novelty.

Novelty is a Flow Trigger, so by adding new ideas and new concepts, our brains become primed for Flow.

Many of us have experienced "Beginners High", where something becomes fascinating because as a beginner we have no base and can quickly master some of the basics.

This is what we are accomplishing with Novelty!

Along with this, our brains are designed for Pattern Recognition.

When misused, it can lead to things that are problematic, such as major conspiracy theories.

However, when used strategically, this Pattern Recognition process is fertile soil to ignite new insights.

When we are taking in new information, our brain is immediately trying to figure out how that information connects with what we already know.

If we keep our minds open, this can actually create a lot of good.

For instance, if we REALLY listen to others who have beliefs that are extremely different from our own, we will learn that they generally have REALLY good reasons for what they believe.

By understanding that, sometimes we can fill in gaps in what may be missing within our own beliefs, and sometimes we have the ability to amend problems we didn't know were there before.

Along with this, the greatest innovations have almost always come from combining ideas from different areas of expertise.

Take the Lightbulb.

I believe most of us would agree it was an amazing innovation that has truly changed our world.

But what is a Lightbulb really?

It's a combination of physics and home living.

It is a perfect combination of understanding electricity and the way that it functions, putting it into a usable state that we can turn on and off at our whim.

At the same time, it is also an answer to the challenge of not being able to see things well at night, to find a match, and keep candles on hand that are still so dull that we can't "actually" see anything.

By looking at different areas of expertise, that pattern recognition goes off in our minds, and that pushes our brains into Flow States as we quickly discover potential ways different things could connect!

That is the power we have available to us!