Click: The Art + Science of Getting from Impasse to Insight by Eve Grodnitzky

Author:Eve Grodnitzky
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Blooming Twig Books
Published: 2014-01-14T14:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 5

Ignite the Catalyst:

Deliver a Shock to Your (Belief) System

Earlier in my career I was working for a company that shall remain unnamed, doing research that I found uninspiring and living in a city that I disliked. No, let’s be honest, I loathed this city and everything about living there (with the possible exception of some really awesome iced cinnamon buns and a beautiful old music theater). With the benefit of hindsight, there was no question that I was both personally and professionally miserable. But – as my mother has often said to me – “You’re not a quitter.” For the record, she usually says this with a roll of her eyes in a way that clearly indicates that any reasonable person would have quit this crazy situation long ago. And so I continued to plug away at my miserable little existence, trying to suck it up and make the best of it. Because hey, I’m not a quitter.

Then one day one of my colleagues suddenly quit his job for a new job and a new town. At the farewell dinner we threw for him on his final day, he and I were seated next to each other and were chatting about his departure and his excitement regarding his new opportunities. I can’t quite remember exactly what led up to this moment, but presumably I was trying – unsuccessfully – to convince him that everything was great in my world. At a certain point he finally asked me in a somewhat exasperated voice, “Yeah, Eve – but are you happy??” The question stopped me in my tracks and left me briefly speechless. I paused and thought for a few seconds before finally responding, “I’m not unhappy.”

My answer still makes me cringe all these years later.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but that fateful question – and my unbelievably pathetic and revealing response – set me on the path to a major insight (“My life sucks and I need to radically change everything about it”) and to one of the most significant turning points in my life. I had been so wrapped up in merely surviving and trying to get through my day-to-day existence that it took a perspective completely outside of my own head to ask the question that rocked my world and opened my eyes to both the reality of my situation and the full range of possible solutions to my misery.

In a Nutshell

Once the stage for insight has been set by both removing blockers and by creating the conditions that facilitate insight, the next step in the Impasse to Insight Method is to introduce one or more elements that serve as catalysts for the core of the insight-generation process. This is where the magic really begins. Think of it like a chemistry experiment. You’ve collected all the appropriate ingredients and equipment. You’ve measured the non-reactive chemicals and put them into the beakers. Now you need to add the spark that sets the reaction in motion. And just

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