Those breakthroughs you had that seemed so obvious in hindsight? You already had the information. Your subconscious knew what to do. But your conscious mind was delayed. It was distracted by shiny objects and busy with notifications.
You have the answers, but you’re not sitting still enough to access them. Your brain doesn’t like boredom, so it invents tasks and dramas to fill the silence. This needs to stop.
I founded my first business in 2011 and sold it in 2021. After working with hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders, I’ve seen firsthand how the most impactful insights often come from within, not from external sources.
Listen out for the answers to find them, because ignoring signs means you make mistakes. Continuously making mistakes means you only find answers by learning the lessons; an expensive and slow way to achieve your goals. Tune in or stay in the dark. Make your choice.
Here’s how to uncover game-changing realisations sooner.
Breakthroughs happen when you create space for them
Most people rush through their days, from meeting to meeting, task to task, without a moment to think. They fill every gap with social media, podcasts, or YouTube videos. They’re consuming information constantly but never processing it. They mistake being busy for being productive.
Real progress comes from those quiet moments when your mind can make connections. When Steve Jobs needed his best ideas, he didn’t schedule more meetings. He went for walks. Warren Buffett spends hours reading and thinking, not filling his calendar with back-to-back calls. Bill Gates took “think weeks” twice a year, retreating to a cabin just to read and ponder.
The most successful people create space for their best thinking to happen.
Five ways to tap into your hidden wisdom
Ask yourself, “What do I know now that I’ll realise in six months?”
Your future self knows things your current self hasn’t accepted yet. You probably have hunches about clients, projects, or opportunities that you’re not acting on. Get them out of your head and onto paper.
Sit down with a notebook, no distractions, and write honestly about what you suspect but haven’t acknowledged. What relationship needs to end? Which client isn’t working out? What project needs to be killed? The answers are already there. You just need to listen.
Ask a friend, “What would you do if you were me?”
Sometimes we can’t see what’s right in front of us because we’re too close to the situation. Our emotions cloud our judgment, and we miss what’s obvious to others.
Pick someone who knows you well but will tell you the truth, not just what you want to hear. Ask them what they’d do in your position, then shut up and listen. Don’t defend or explain. Just take in their perspective. Their distance from your situation gives them clarity you might not have.
Find your personal success system
Success holds clues. Past successes can be dissected to find your winning formula. Think back to your biggest wins. What conditions were present? Were you working alone or with others? Morning or night? Under pressure or with plenty of time?
Map out the elements that were present in your biggest breakthroughs. Those aren’t coincidences. They’re your personal success system. When you need your next big idea, recreate those conditions deliberately. Your success leaves clues. Spot the pattern.
Intentionally meditate on challenges
When books, podcasts and YouTube videos fill your brain, they crowd out your own thoughts with other people’s ideas. But intentional meditation with your own challenges is what you really need. Make every day include short bursts of time where the biggest challenge you’re facing can float around in your mind.
Ask, “What if this was easy?” “What do I want?” “If I could wave a magic wand, what would I ask for?” “What will matter in five years?” Get familiar with the problem by seeing it from multiple angles.
Start with just five minutes of sitting quietly. No phone, no music, no distractions. Let your mind wander over the prompts without judging what comes up. The solutions to your biggest problems often appear when you give them airtime in a casual setting.
Reframe boredom
When was the last time you felt bored? Probably not recently, and that’s the problem. Boredom is a good thing. Blank space in your calendar is desirable. Resist the need to fill it with any old rubbish. Spend hours without media for peace on tap.
Boredom leads to creativity. When your mind has nothing to do, it starts connecting dots and generating ideas. Next time you feel that itch to check your phone or add something to your schedule, stop yourself. Sit with the discomfort. The epiphany you need is on the other side of tedious boredom.
Your greatness is waiting in the silence
Your next game-changing realization is already inside you. It’s not in another book, course, or mentor’s advice. It’s in the quiet space you’ve been avoiding. Start creating that space today. Journal your hunches. Ask for honest feedback. Map your success patterns. Meditate on the solution. Embrace boredom.
The most expensive education is learning through mistakes when you already knew better. Listen to yourself. The answers are waiting.
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