This post originally appeared onFast Company.
Of course, theres nothing magic about it.
Struggle and insight go together, saysDavid Perkins, research professor at theHarvard Graduate School of Education.
You are not likely to achieve an insight, unless youve struggled with the problem some.
In other words, breakthrough thinking is usually preceded by a lot of dead ends and bad ideas.
If you look historically at breakthroughs, the story is never just about the key insight.
Its also about what led up to it and what followed it, says Perkins.
Typically that involves a lot of work.
A technical challenge requires you to work through technicalities to arrive at a solution.
Its not easy, but it doesnt feel like an insight, says Perkins.
It feels like climbing a mountain handhold by handhold.
An insights challenge, on the other hand can feel a lot murkier.
Its more of a gap to get across verse a cliff to climb, says Perkins.
Most problems out there are a mix, says Perkins.
Are You Boxed In or Bewildered?
Maybe you have a solution in mind, but it just doesnt seem to be working out.
You feel stuckboxed in.
Thats what we mean when we talk about thinking outside the box, says Perkins.
When youre bewildered, on the other hand, you’re able to feel completely untethered or lost.
Bewildered means you are operating in a huge wilderness of possibilities, he says.
Understanding which camp you fall into can help you start to see past the limitations youre facing.
Four Approaches to Reach Your Breakthrough Moment
Remember: the struggle is part of the process.
A breakthrough moment is essentially a rapid reorganization of ideas that youve been brooding over.
Its the moment when, while rearranging the moving pieces, they finally snap into place.
Expand Your Search
Brainstorming has been a longtime approach to problem solving.
But it can be a total crapshoot.
The whole thing about brainstorming is that it doesnt always work, says Perkins.
But studies have shown there are certain approaches to help make the most of brainstorming.
Another effective technique is usingrandom stimulation.
Open a book to a random page, close your eyes and point to a word.
Narrow formulations of problems are one of the principle reasons of lack of insight, says Perkins.
If youre solving for the wrong problem, youre going to be hard-pressed to arrive at the right solution.
One of Perkinss favorite personal strategies is simply asking the question: whats the real problem?
Its a kind of brainstorming about the problem itself rather than the solutions, he says.
Trying tosee the problem from a new perspectiveopens up the opportunity for new approaches.
Keep asking yourself, Whats the real problem here?
Reach Out To Others
If you feel stuck, look outside yourself.
Reach out to experts or friends, read up on different related topics.
Perkins calls this approach deliberate cross fertilization.
Youre essentially on the hunt for new interactions that might spark a connection or new angle.
Time away gives you free cross fertilization, says Perkins.
In other words, youre allowing yourself to make new and unfamiliar connections by putting yourself in new surroundings.
Time away also allows you to recover your energy and gives you space to think differently.
Youve forgotten some of the biases that were originally in the way, says Perkins.
Even after trying all these steps once, you may very well still be stuck.
Theres no magic bullet.
But there is a quiver of arrows.
Theres no guarantee youll solve the problem, but you have to try.
Shes a 2013 Emerging Writing Fellow with the Center For Fiction.
Image bySeamartini Graphics(Shutterstock).
Additional photos byEmma KateandSebastien Wiertz(Flickr).
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