I am absolutely passionate about insights. They are such wonderful things that have magic in them, both  insights about problems, challenges or situations and self-insights, things that aid self-awareness and  personal growth.

My work has always been in the area of digging for insights. As an account planner working in advertising, I  would analyse data and information and look at trends to uncover those things about consumers, markets  or brands that held a spark that would create differentiation and profit.  
 
As a coach, I help my clients uncover new insights about themselves that help them create awareness  about themselves; what makes them great; what holds them back so that they can find ways themselves to  move forward. Taking a client out of their normal approach or context helps insights to emerge.  
 
What is an insight?

So what exactly is an insight? Where does it come from and what happens to the brain when it pops out?  
 
Here’s a few definitions of an insight: ‘a clear, deep and sudden understanding of a complicated problem or  situation’; ‘the capacity for understanding hidden truths’; ‘perceiving in an intuitive manner; ‘power of acute  observation and deduction’, ‘penetrating discernment’     
 
What would your definition of an insight be?  
 
These definitions appear to suggest that insights are not just about logical analysis, they can be formed with  a sixth sense or an intuitive leap. Whatever your preferred definition, what is evident is that they come  about with time to think and reflect, and are easier if fed with an incisive question and given time and  space to cook.  
 
Before insights, we often have a period of feeling quite stuck and frustrated with the accompanying  negative emotion, which is why insights feel so good!  
 
An insight feels like a sudden shift from pre-solution to solution and has positive energy in it, and is  something that unlocks the door and acts as fuel for sustained change.  
 
Research into the brain shows that just before people solved puzzles with insight, their brains gave off  alpha waves, which correlate with the mind being quiet. To see a situation in a new light, we need to stop  thinking about it in the same way.  

When we have an insight, we get a rush of energy and feel positive, the result of new mental connections  being created and neurotransmitters like adrenaline and dopamine being released. At the moment of  insight creation, the brain gives off gamma-band waves, which indicate a super-map linking many parts of  the brain in new ways being created.  
 
Examples of insights  

I love insights because they are so useful and feel magical.  Simple insights can help people to change habits that have been frustrating them, manage themselves better and market themselves to get what they want.  
 
There are many examples of insights, so here I wanted to share some of the ones that resonate for me:  

• A client realising that they no longer wanted to have ‘responsibility’ as a value any more, freeing them up for more fun
• Me realising that the things I need and want to change are what most other people find second-nature and easy 
• Clients realising that they have choice and don’t have to do anything other people think they should do  
• A client realising that the key to not creating piles of paper was to change the order they did things after they came through their front door  
• Me lining up 4 glasses of water would mean remembering to drink 2L of water a day, rather than forgetting, keeping my body happier  
• A client realising that delegating 2 simple tasks each day would save 4 hours a day and create the time for the important things that they hadn’t had time to do    
  

What insights have you had that stand out for you or that have been life changing? What new insight would you love to have to create change in your business or life?   
 
Top 10 tips to help insights emerge

Here’s some tips to help insights emerge.

1. Believe that you are creative and can come up with insights
2. Summarise your challenge into an incisive open question 
3. Create a relaxed space to allow your mind to roam or go outdoors  
4. Keep a notepad handy for when your insights emerge  
5. Talk to different people about the thing you want insights about – sharing can help insights form   
6. Think about the thing about which you want an insight, i.e. brief your mind and then do something completely different  
7. Get a coach who can help you see different perspectives, increasing the likelihood of having different/fresh insights  
8. Let go of perfection – an insight isn’t right or wrong, good or bad, it just is  
9. Learn to coach yourself about things that you want to change  
10. Think about people who you perceive to be insightful and mirror what they do; e.g. spend time reflecting; read a lot; have a curious attitude to life etc   
    

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell is a very interesting book about insights.