Most thoughts that people experience can be termed memory thoughts,. SUBSCRIBE ... is aimed at using the information peo
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THE ART OF INSIGHT: Author(s): Charles Keifer
Introduction: Insight is a fresh thought that results in a dramatically improved understanding of a situation or problem. Peace, lack of pressure and quality of openness in thought are frames of mind that are conducive to insightful thinking. This book provides techniques designed to increase the understanding and frequency of insights.
The Power of “Aha!” “Aha!” moments can provide enlightening clarity and, in some cases, radically redefine one’s business for the better. An insight is a specific type of thought. Thoughts are comprised of cognitive activities of the mind and can be mental images, ideas, or opinions. Most thoughts that people experience can be termed memory thoughts,
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thoughts that have already occurred to people in some form or another. Thoughts that are new are called fresh thoughts. Because the process of accumulating facts and applying logic are so heavily reinforced in today’s education system, memory thinking (an analytical approach) is usually what most people gravitate toward when attempting to solve a problem.
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If memory thinking fails to produce an adequate solution, individuals usually experience distress because they feel stuck in a difficult situation with no clear understanding of how to solve it. It is times like these that fresh thoughts can come in handy, but individuals do not need to wait until memory thought is exhausted before turning to fresh thought. Instead, the best way of thinking is a hybrid between the two methods. While not all fresh thoughts are insights, opening one’s mind to the influx of fresh thoughts is the first step in achieving the state of mind that can result in genuine insights that result in the improved understanding of a situation or problem. The Insight State of Mind Experiencing more insight promises to unleash a number of positive influences in one’s life, and learning to utilize fresh thinking and memory thinking are important first steps. The next step necessary in unleashing more insight is to achieve the state of mind that is most beneficial to the occurrence of insights— the insight state of mind.
People are taught to rely on intellectual learning, a type of learning that involves the memorization of facts and the ability to store and retrieve those facts at a later time. Insight learning, on the other hand, is aimed at using the information people are learning to gain insights; a process that involves both active and passive processes.
While everyone arrives at this state of mind through their own unique paths, the insight state of mind occurs when peoples’ minds are relaxed and not fixated on any particular issue or problem; it is a state of easygoing, mental relaxation. For many, this frame of mind is experienced when they are involved in an activity that is calming and allows them to casually focus on the task at hand. Taking a walk, a run, or a shower have all been identified by many as their best times to manifest an insight state of mind. Good judgment and wisdom are products of a clearheaded and calm state of mind; therefore, it is only natural that insight most often occurs when one is experiencing a moment of calmness. Most insights occur during a moment of mental pause when one is not thinking about a particular problem or issue. So, while receptivity and passivity are intrinsic when experiencing an insight, proactive and self-awareness are necessary to actively promoting
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an insight state of mind.
Insight Listening A key component of an insight state of mind is insight listening, or experiencing insights during conversations. Individuals do not even need to be participants in a conversation for insights to occur, nor is the type of conversation that is occurring important. Instead,
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it is about how people are listening to the conversation. When people employ insight listening, they are utilizing a skill that amplifies the probability that insights will occur. Just as there are several ways of thinking, there are also several ways of listening. Most often, people tend to listen in a way that is most akin to their prevalent modes of thinking, or memory thinking. Listening in this manner involves committing the content of what someone is saying to memory, categorizing it, labeling it, and filing it away so it can be accessed via memory thinking at a later time. While there is merit in and a need for this type of listening, this is not how one practices insight listening. With insight listening, people are not listening for content so much as they are listening for feeling and emotion. Insight listening requires individuals to suspend the tendency to listen with intellect, or trying to figure out the point of a story and filter out what is important enough to be stored in their memory banks. Instead, their minds should be quietly humming along, free from preconceived thoughts and detailed content. Insight listening is similar to watching a movie for the first time; people must allow themselves to be transported into the story rather than breaking each scene down into a number of elements to be judged. Because insight listening can enable an insight state of mind, it is beneficial for people to practice various insight listening techniques. Practice switching between insight listening and content listening, or holding thoughts in the conscious mind, often to the point of being incapable of allowing new thoughts to occur. Try doing each for a minute before switching back to the other mode. The key is to develop fluency in both modes of listening.
While all people have insights, the quality and frequency of these insights is something that they can control. This involves identifying which state of mind one is more likely to experience insight in and which activities typically encourage that particular state of mind.
Another exercise is to dismiss or drop thoughts as soon as they come into one’s mind. The key in this exercise is to not replace the thought with another, but to appreciate the brief moment of nothingness that replaces that thought. The book goes through several additional exercises to help the reader practice insight listening techniques.
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Thought precedes action, but if the thoughts that spur an action are of poor quality, the action is likely to make matters worse. The art of insight requires self-awareness, and while no one is able to be perfectly happy all the time, it is important for people to be able to recognize a poor frame of mind and the emotional agitation that accompanies it. At times, people must simply accept that they are not in the best mental state; otherwise, poor quality thoughts will breed poor quality actions. It is important for people to recognize that their thoughts affect their moods, their moods affect their perceptions, and
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perception is really nothing more than their own version of reality. When people accept the notion that they alone are responsible for their experiences, learning to recognize low quality thoughts and moods becomes an important tool for reshaping their lives.
There are three things people must keep in mind in order to become more insightful: 1. Only one’s thinking can take one out of an insight state of mind. The
The techniques used by individuals to stimulate more insightful moments can also be leveraged by organizations.
outside world is never the culprit. 2. Focusing hard on thinking better may work on occasion, but trying to outthink one’s mind is never a good idea. 3. A genuine awareness of the connection between thought and the reality one perceives will allow a distressed mind to recover quickly and inhabit an insight state of mind with greater regularity. Living with Insight Initially framing a problem, or thinking about a problem, is not hard because the mind does it automatically—it is reframing the problem that often causes a challenge. Reframing is necessary if one wants to think about the problem differently, which ties back to experiencing fresh thoughts. Sometimes, the best way to reframe a thought is to get an outsider’s
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perspective. Using the techniques for one-on-one insight listening can be particularly useful in these situations. Another step in reframing a problem is to not think about the problem itself, but to think about what the desired outcome would be. The book goes through a series of questions to help the readers achieve an
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insight. The journey associated with The Art of Insight can guide people toward better quality decisions and greater control over their lives. By using the tips and techniques set forth in this book, people can enjoy a heightened sense of wisdom, balance, and perspective.
Listening is a key function in the process of generating more insight. This involves both listening for insights in oneself and listening for insights in others.
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