When did you last have a breakthrough?
Bec has an unexpected breakthrough & wonders what triggers ideas, when and how?
Hey there, Bec here, back from a week childminding my nephews in Germany.
On Sunday I sat on a plane from Berlin to Manchester with my hand over my nose. The air was thick with the stench of vomit as one man’s party-hard weekend caught up with him. The pilot announced cabin crew prepare for landing when my breakthrough struck.
It wasn’t a lightning bolt but a coming together of a few disparate ideas, a picture emerging, pieces assembling to form a solution to a puzzle. Clarity. There was no Eureka moment and certainly no running down the aisle as we buckled up and stowed our seat trays.
I felt calm. If I shouted anything it would be a quiet murmuring of “Ah yes, that’s it, I see now”.
It’s hard to say what led to it. I’m not a good flyer at the best of times and still believe that it is only my upmost concentration that keeps the plane in the air and everyone on board safe. It was pushing 11pm or midnight in Berlin time. I was tired, nervous, uncomfortable. I’d been reading at a frantic pace to distract myself from my fears. But it came. Despite that? Because of it? Who knows.
No doubt the lack of phones helped. I was forced to sit with my thoughts rather than mindlessly scrolling. And for ages! I had time without distractions, no short-term fixes as there’s very little in the way of dopamine to be found on an easyJet flight. Instead I turned my fear of flying towards reading a long-neglected non-fiction book - one that both challenged and stimulated me.
That’s the thing with breakthroughs - they come unexpected at moments of idleness and mind wandering that are so rare in our over busy lives.1
📚BOOK GIVEAWAY📚
We have a signed copy of Oliver Burkeman’s new book Meditations for Mortals. The American edition is published this week and to celebrate its arrival we’d love to gift a US-based writing friend. Is that you? Just add a comment to Even Oliver Burkeman dreams of being a ‘proper writer’ and you’ll be in with a chance to win.
I’m curious about your breakthroughs.
Is there a recent example of when inspiration struck? Where were you, when? Have you figured out how to trigger them? Pop a comment below - I’d love to hear.
In the meantime, you’ll find me seeking late night flights from Europe in the hope of catching another breakthrough.
Take care and keep writing, Bec
💫 A few links
I very much hope the breakthrough wasn’t triggered by the smell of vomit. I wrote about how German poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller kept a drawer full of rotting apples in his studio to help him write. You can read more in: The scent of writing
Inspiration from our archive
🌟 How a writing block led to a breakthrough: the origin story of a book
🌟 The park bench problem. On dead ends, existential crises and why we keep going.
From others
🌟 This is fascinating recent post from Ted Gioia on ideas emerging in dreams: Are Visionary Artists Just Mentally Ill?
🌟 I often return to this 2009 Ted Talk from Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius
Perhaps the secret is just more ice cream?
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I often associate flights with productivity rather than creativity. The lack of distracting wifi and mobile signal means I often use them for getting things done - and in the past have written, replied to emails (offline) and got organised. Train journeys are better for creativity, staring out of the window and dreaming.
Chris met me at the airport and after a big hug and brief chat, I sat in the car and typed this newsletter as he drove back to Yorkshire in the rain and thick mist. I didn’t write down the breakthrough, that clarity came with trust that the insight would stay. And it has.
This is so interesting, Bec. My rare breakthrough/fragments-coming-together moments often occur while walking. But 6 months ago I started daily meditation for the first time in my long life. Sometimes, most unexpectedly, a host of creative cohesive thoughts tumble in. It’s weird. But then, maybe it’s not.
I too find that being in airports, and on flights (not v often) give me those 'aha' moments. Somehow my mind makes connections that were not apparent beforehand. Something about being in these liminal spaces?