Want to have more INSIGHTS?

What actually is an insight?

Dr David Rock, of the Neuroleadership Institute, says this:

[an insight is] “the sudden appearance in conscious awareness of a new and useful relationship among previously known information.”

When I heard this in a presentation by Dr Rock and his co-researcher, Dr Jessica Payne, at the recent ASTD in Denver, I was immediately struck by the words “appearance in conscious awareness.” The implication of this is of course, that the process of having an insight takes place, at least partly, in our subconscious and is then brought to the attention of our conscious awareness. Furthermore, Rock said, “No one solves complex problems at will” the answers arrive from the subconscious.

Often this subconscious bit happens during sleep or just before entering or waking from sleep. In fact, sleep may be vital for solving some problems – so the common call to “take a break” or “sleep on it” may genuinely help. Insights can even (really) happen in the shower or driving your car or while you are knitting! The important thread in these situations is that while we sleep or are distracted by some other activity such as showering, our brain is not consciously trying to solve the problem. But, during these activities, parts of our brain can be subconsciously working on and experimenting with ideas and solutions.

We often see this kind of thing when people are using the CCS. People regularly pick cards without even really knowing why.  They will even say,

“I am not really sure why I chose this but it just seemed to jump out. I guess for me it means …”

… and then they begin sharing. Of course, this may not always lead to dramatic insights, but it does regularly bring surprises and deep and memorable discussions and understanding.

Rock and Payne also listed quality reflection conditions that may enhance your chances of having insights:

• get quiet – a quieter brain has more insights
• be internally focussed
• be positive (negative thoughts are ‘noisy’)
• not consciously trying to solve the problem.

I can’t help again seeing the link to the way the CCS can be used as a tool for critical self-reflection and  to generate visual brainstorms that encourage people to raise all kinds of possibilities.

So, always be ready to encourage your participants to pull out whatever CCS cards jump out at them, especially if they are not quite sure why!

Who knows what insights may arise?

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To find out more take a look at this article:

www.davidrock.net/files/TheAhaMomentASTD2011.pdf

or if you are really serious, try the Neuroleadership Institute: www.neuroleadership.org

‘The Us Kit’ – CCS Express Fans included in Relationship Australia’s Kit

The CCS is not just for corporate communication.  In fact it has always been our goal at CCS Corporation to have the product made part of programs and activities for families.

The Us Kit - six fun activities in a fun purple box!

And, now it has happened.  We are proud to let you know about a special kit, called The Us Kit,  that we helped produce for Relationships Australia.  The Us Kit helps families establish and build good habits of communication through a range of fun activities that suit a variety of ages and are easily completed within the routines of busy families.

 The kit aims to help families:

• Strengthen your relationships
• Show caring, respect and support for one another
• Practice habits of positive communication, both speaking and being heard
• Build skills in safely dealing with feelings
• Talk about the tough stuff and solve problems together
• Create a sense of belonging, connection and goodwill with each other
• Enjoy each other !

CCS Express Fans were chosen to be included in the kit because they made it fun and easy for parents and children to begin conversations with each other, particularly about “hard things”.  The fans also form the basis of a family visioning activity to give families a way to think about the kind of family they would like to be and how to start working towards this.

The Us Kit includes 6 activities

Chalk Talk activity

‘Air out’ your dirty laundry!

Eggspressions

Growing Together – a family visioning activity using CCS Express Fans

Today I am Feeling activity

The Us Kit – six fun activities in a fun purple box!

Tackling the Hard Stuff – using CCS Express Fans to talk about hard things.

 

What families have said about The Us Kit:

“Eggspressions are a big hit in our family. My little girl has had a big year, and it was an easy way to show her some TLC.”  [Jenny, 34]

“Chalk talk didn’t require any conversation from him. He’s quite withdrawn and it’s been tough. But it started communication on safe topics, and with his worries out in the open we were able to reassure him and work on things.“   [Tim, 37]

“In our house it’s become a matter of Friday being pizza and purple box night. We’d do that maybe every second week. If I forget the kids bug me to get the purple box down from the top of the fridge where it lives.”    [Amanda, 29]

“My teenager’s favourite activity is Dirty Laundry. She says that she thinks mum and dad have some laundry they should air.”  [Greg, 49]

“The experience of us doing the activities together was actually life changing. We were so afraid that bringing things up would make it worse, but we were going around in circles and nothing was changing. Bringing it out in the open was not as hard as we thought, and we got some professional help too.” [Kathy, 44]

“The Us Kit helped us decide what sort of family we wanted to be, and to work towards that. It wasn’t a conversation we have had before, and it helped connect us and set a tone of us pulling together.”   [Ryan, 38]

The Us Kit can be used by families to at their own pace in a way that suits them, and for supporters and professionals who work with families as a tool in their work together.

The Kit is available for purchase from Relationships Australia www.relationships.org.au for AUD$50.00

Who is Relationships Australia?
Relationships Australia has been providing relationship support services to the community since 1948.  Our services include counselling, relationship education, family dispute resolution and community development programs for diverse cultural groups.  We also provide professional education through our training arm the Australian Institute for Family Studies. We provide our services face to face, by telephone, and online. You can find Relationships Australia centres in every state and territory in Australia.

CCS used in award-winning ‘Shake A Leg’ Aboriginal Health program

The Hunter New England Health program, ‘Shake A Leg’ recently won first prize in the Aboriginal Health Awards. The program was recognised for its achievements in “Strengthening Aboriginal Families and Children.”

Kristy Crooks, Shake A Leg project leader, receives the award.

Shake A Leg is a school-based program for both primary and secondary schools which is delivered to all children with an Aboriginal perspective.

The program aims to address health issues ina fun and interactive way and reduce the likelihood of young people developing preventable illnesses commonly known to Aboriginal people.

Shake A Leg in action in the classroom

The program utilises existing resources some specific to Aboriginal People others are mainstream resources [CCS!] delivered in a culturally sensitive way. The program is designed to meet key content areas of the school curriculum in Physical Education, Personal Development, Health and Welfare.

Some of the key topics which will be covered include nutrition, oral health, otitis media, physical activity, identity, drugs and alcohol. ‘Shake A Leg’ not only aimed at improving health and practices of the children but also the family and community.

Customised CCS card and sticker templates

The CCS is used in the program to give participants a way to share thoughts and feelings with one another, to offer genuine praise and to set personal goals.

CCS Corporation designed some special custom CCS card and vision sticker templates to complement the program.