Step back and notice what emerges
Engage your nonconscious mind to explore challenging questions.
When reflecting on open-ended questions that don’t have quick or obvious answers, one way to access deeper insights is to engage the nonconscious part of your mind. Some example questions:
🤔 What do I want to do with my time?
🤔 How do I want to relate to the people around me?
🤔 What habits are holding me back?
This approach also works for problems, as any problem can be turned into a question. A career dilemma becomes, ‘What path should I take next?’ A strained relationship turns into, ‘How do I want to show up here?’
Grapple with the question. Explore different angles and possible answers, question your assumptions, and notice what feelings arise. Reflect on what you discover. If a clear answer hasn’t emerged, step away and focus on other things, or sleep on it. Your nonconscious mind will keep working in the background, quietly sifting through ideas and seeing connections. This often leads to brief moments of clarity, where answers appear seemingly out of nowhere, sometimes as subtle clues or tiny flashes of understanding. Occasionally, nothing comes.
Using your nonconscious mind is like preparing a stew and letting it simmer while you step away.
Not every insight is right. A thought like, “I should quit my job and move to another country,” can feel exciting at first. It’s important to reflect on and test these insights before making big decisions. Reach out to trusted friends or mentors for an outside perspective. Take small steps first: research, experiment, or make minor changes to see if the idea holds up. If it doesn’t feel right, keep exploring, and a better direction will probably emerge.
Mindfulness meditation helps you tune into insights. The intention is to observe without judgment and stay present with whatever arises. This practice sharpens your awareness of subtle thoughts, feelings, and body sensations, like noticing the aromas rising from a stew as it simmers. As your awareness grows, it becomes easier to notice the signs of valuable insights as they emerge.
Insights often surface when you least expect, like a stew left to simmer, so be patient.
