Peripheral thinking

Have you heard of the term “peripheral vision?”

You hear sportscasters say the ball handler has great “peripheral vision” and is able to pass the ball at exactly the right place, at the right time to the right player who happens to be in that great position to sink in the ball and get the points, and they call it “peripheral vision.”

I guess most of us are familiar with this. But let me ask you a question.

Have you ever attended a seminar and while listening to the trainer or the speaker, an idea pops up in your mind that doesn’t seem to be related to what the speaker is saying, but it makes so much sense to you that you feel that idea can be used for your career or business?

It has happened to me plenty of times and I am sure it has happened to you.

What happens is that something the speaker said fired some stored information in your brain that triggers an idea that is relevant to you. But the challenge is that idea is simply floating at the subconscious level and unless you capture that thought or idea and put it into writing, you will forget and may not be able to capture it again.

These are what I call my sideline thoughts and I kid you not, if I say, that those thoughts are really the winning ideas that have helped me improve my craft, grew my business and have been breakthroughs for me.

When I come up with a new idea, it’s like a light bulb switches on inside my head. And as I did a little research into it, studies have shown that when you have a new idea, there is a burst of brain activity that looks like a light show on brain scans.

Scientists believe that big breakthroughs often seem to come out of nowhere, when we’re doing something else. The unconscious mind has remained a mystery to us.

It is able to make connections, help us solve problems we haven’t been able to crack consciously. The thing here is that it seems effortless. When we use our conscious mind to try to come up with ideas they don’t and maybe because we were trying too hard. This happening is called “peripheral thinking.”

“Francis, my best ideas come when I am taking a shower…”says one entrepreneur. A creative artist says: “I do my best thinking when I am sitting in my toilet, doing heavy thinking ala Rodin…” That makes me laugh because it has happened to me too.

But the best ideas come when I attend seminars, listen to a speaker or even while attending church service on Sundays and just when I do not expect it, the ideas do come.

One writer says: “This phenomenon is actually gamma waves emanating from the brain’s right hemisphere. That’s the area of the brain involved in handling associations and assembling elements of a problem.

The only difference between you and me and all of those serial entrepreneurs who come up with business ideas right and left is that they have the courage to act upon their own bursts of insight.”

This is why seminars may bore me, preaching services may lull me to sleep or I may have spent good money on a bad book, but I don’t really mind because I know that sometimes all I need is a line, a sentence, a quote that triggers an idea in my mind that provides the creativity spurt I need and when I put that into action, it works and brings tremendous benefits.

The unconscious mind produces many brilliant ideas and this may also be true in group brainstorming sessions as well. The thing to do is to capture them while they do not fade away and have the courage to act them out.

Sometimes I would even wake up in the middle of my sleep because my mind is entertaining an idea I know would help, write them down and then go back to sleep, but honestly on many occasions, I could no longer sleep because I get excited with the idea and want to develop it further.

Peripheral thinking is powerful. Be awarded of its benefit because deep down, we already have a lot of smart ideas and know the answers.

The trick is letting them out and acting on it.

(Experience two inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed and updated Level Up Leadership on July 11-12. For further inquiries contact April at +639285591798 or Success Options at 7270291 / 7275692 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)