It's a big part of what we do - we test our movies extensively. I'm always there myself. It's sometimes difficult to sit through, especially if it's a version of the movie that's not working particularly well.
Everybody's life has these moments, where one thing leads to another. Some are big and obvious and some are small and seemingly insignificant.
Yes - it's the same in any other work - the more you massage your thinking the more capable I believe you are of expanding how you go about things and learning.