Unlocking your creative insights: How the brain thinks differently when you relax

What is insight?

Insight — that exhilarating “aha” moment — is more than a flash of brilliance. In neuroscience, insight is discussed as a sudden realization of a solution to a problem. There is often a spontaneity about it. So, how can we tap into something that is spontaneous? Neuropsychology gives us some cues.

In coaching, we talk a lot about neuropsychology, because it’s all about working with clients to help facilitate new awareness and insights. Last week I attended a Coaching & Neuroscience webinar which focused on the idea that our brains are wired to take the path of least resistance. When we think, our brains default to energy-efficient pathways, relying heavily on past experiences to conserve energy and think quickly. BUT it comes at a cost: net-new thinking requires building new neural connections, is harder and slower — especially under pressure.

True insight often comes when we are relaxed, breaking through the mental blocks that occur when our brains fixate on a single or first solution strategy. This initial idea — drawn from past experience — may be the easiest solution, but it’s not always the best one.

Recognizing that our brains do this is the first “aha” moment needed to start to tap into your true creative insights.

Two brain pathways. One fast, reactive. The other, creative.

The brain operates with two primary pathways: one is fast and reactive, optimized for safety and efficiency, and another slower, deeper-thinking path, that allows for creative problem solving as your brain explores different angles instead of jumping to the first conclusion. Under stress or time constraints, our brains naturally default to the fast path — it keeps us safe, but limits creativity. In contrast, when we are relaxed, the brain is more likely to engage in the kind of thinking that forms novel connections, leading to unexpected or original insights.

This explains why many of us have breakthroughs in the shower or during a quiet walk on the beach. Neuroscience supports this as well: when a true insight occurs, brain scans show that multiple regions of the brain light up in synchrony, often associated with a burst of gamma wave activity — a brain rhythm linked to heightened awareness and learning. It shows that relaxation can be a catalyst for innovation.

Maybe some of this seems obvious, but are we really thinking about this to truly work with our brains to more often access our creative genius? I recently read Michael Singer’s The Untethered Soul, which really resonated with me. Simply put, this book is about the inner voice in our head that is always talking and how that voice can get in our way. He emphasizes that by stepping back from our thoughts — recognizing that we are not the constant chatter in our mind — we create the mental space needed for creative genius to emerge. Through meditation and surrendering control, we allow life to unfold and insights to surface organically.

Today, I leave you with 3 ideas on how to take this in and practice creating an environment for yourself to more consistently generate creative insights. We CAN train our brains to operate in this more open, exploratory state. Here are three powerful practices to help stretch your mental pathways:

1. Journaling for Neuroplasticity
   By writing down positive thoughts daily — especially through gratitude journaling — you reinforce new neural patterns that counteract the brain's natural negativity bias. Over time, this rewiring (neuroplasticity) shifts your baseline mindset and creates fertile ground for insight. Start training your brain for positivity today.

2. HeartMath & Biofeedback
   At a corporate learning seminar, I first discovered and used a HeartMath device called the EMWave2. It is a device that reads your pulse and when you are agitated it has a light that turns red. As you breath and relax, your heart rate comes down and you can physically see you are calmer with a blue/green light. I worked with a partner, discussed a difficult conflict with a work colleague and came up with an initial solution. As I talked about the irritating situation the light was all red, of course. After a few minutes of deep breathing, when the biofeedback showed I’d reached a calm (blue/green) state, I revisited the issue — and surprisingly, found a better, more collaborative solution. Tools like these can visibly show you the power of regulating stress in the body to create an internal environment conducive to insight. Can you imagine if we all wore the device at work and could see when our colleagues were red? Even just visualizing for yourself whether you are getting worked up (red) at work can be the first step in awareness to help you move from the fast brain path to the deeper path.

3. Coaching as a Metacognitive Pause
   I get to witness the power of coaching to draw out insights in clients every day. Coaching isn’t about giving advice — it’s about creating a pause to think about our thinking. This is metacognition: the ability to reflect on and guide our own thought processes. In areas where we don’t naturally slow down to reflect — like emotional triggers or automatic work habits — coaching helps illuminate blind spots and spark meaningful shifts. Often, the breakthrough comes simply because the client hasn’t taken that pause before. In this way, coaching is like a workout for your brain — an intentional investment of time and energy to access deeper thought pathways, with the coach there to guide and support the process.

In Summary:

In a world that praises speed and output, creative insight asks us to slow down and turn inward. Whether through biofeedback, journaling or coaching, you can create an environment for your brain that’s not just productive, but also profoundly insightful.

Powerful Question 038:

What commitment will you make this week to relax the mind to unlock creative insights?