AHA Moments

“A moment of sudden inspiration, insight, recognition or comprehension.” quote from Oprah Winfrey.

As I was sitting in the car thinking what to write about next, I had an aha moment! Why not write about “Aha Moments”? When I returned home I went right to my computer and Googled the term “aha moment”. I learned it is actually a new expression. Merriam-Webster Dictionary added it to their Collegiate Dictionary in August, 2012. And it was popularized by Oprah! She started using it on her show in the 90s and made it a household phrase. However, psychologists were using it all the way back in 1939. The definition of an aha moment is; “that sudden click when something you already knew settles into place and you finally see it”. (Definition from Merriam-Webster Dictionary online)

As I wrote in my last post, I am a woman who compares everything and when something clicks, it’s like a lightbulb going off in my brain. The little hairs on my arms stand up and I feel so smart.

So, what gives me that feeling? Writing a new post is one. When I research an idea and find a comparison, I get amazed and have to share it, hence this blog. I learned there are many types of aha moments. The sudden aha, like “Oh, I know the answer” and the quiet reflection, as in “Something’s not right.” Then there is the return reflection as in you already knew it deep down.

We use the word, aha, a lot in our everyday conversations. I feel a great party game would be to see how you could say, “aha” with different voice inflections. For example: an aha for surprise, doubt, agreement, confirmation, approval, understanding, affirmation, an I got you moment or a good idea.

What I am learning is that real truths in life aren’t really new. Our inner knowledge is almost like a Déja vu experience, meaning it’s as though we’ve known it all along. When things come to light, and we experience it fully and deeply it is transformational, leaving you in a different state of mind from before it occurred. These experiences held deep inside us as a truth we’ve learned somewhere along the way and forgotten. And in those moments when we get that “aha moment” it’s like something is finally becoming illuminated. It’s as though we are remembering something we learned from our past and now it makes sense, hence Déja vu. I can describe it as when I see two things fitting together to make a surprising third. Giving an ecstatic moment of “Oh, that’s why!”

I live for my aha moments, but they are unpredictable by their very nature. I feel if you aren’t paying attention, you will not get one. To experience these revelations is thrilling, and can help you breakthrough to an idea that you had and now are able to formulate it. However, we are blasted with so much information that our minds are forever being distracted. It’s so hard to maintain awareness.

I always reflect on one of my aha moments. One of my memories occurred when I was the bookkeeper for my father’s uniform business. Because it was a man’s business, the men my father hired wanted to replace me. I had been working there for twenty years when they convinced my father that I needed help. They contacted the store’s accountants and they placed an add for a bookkeeper. The accountants interviewed the applicants and hired a gorgeous young man. He told them his name was Paul, but it wasn’t who he really was. He had stolen an identity and credentials. The whole time he was there, a thought kept looping in my mind: “Hallee, doesn’t it seems strange that Paul, a gorgeous, young, well dressed man with the longest most beautiful eyelashes I have ever seen is working at the store for very little money?” This phrase keep reverberating in my mind. Something is not right. When I discovered he was embezzling, I was ready to act. My brain had been preparing me. I would call this the quiet aha moment

So, AHA. Have you thought of this before? Maybe the AHA isn’t someone teaching you something new. Maybe the AHA is just someone helping you to remember?

If you have had an AHA MOMENT please write to me, let’s share it.