“It’s good to go with your gut instincts in life. You just should. Even if it doesn’t work out, something good will come out of it.” ~ Karen Gillan
One day several years ago, on the drive home from the grocery store, I stopped at a red light behind a large truck with stacks of rebar piled high on the flatbed. The light turned green, and the driver put the truck in gear, but I held back instead of following right behind him. Something told me not to put my foot on the accelerator.
It was a wise decision to listen to my inner voice, because when the truck moved forward, the entire load of rebar slid off the back of the flatbed and clanged to the pavement directly in front of us. If I had immediately followed the truck, those steel bars would have gone right through my windshield and likely skewered both my daughter and I like shish kabobs.
Those gut feelings we get, often referred to as intuition, belong to the autonomic portion of our decision-making process. It’s the unconscious instincts our prehistoric ancestors developed in order to survive. Although these days we don’t have to flee from saber-toothed tigers or try to avoid lava streams from erupting volcanos, we retain those survival instincts. Without my having to think about it, my brain recognized an inherent danger in the haphazard way those steel rods were stacked on the flatbed truck.
It isn’t only physical danger our gut instincts warn us about. Have you ever met someone for the first time and took an instant disliking to them? Your memory circuits have picked up on mannerisms this person displays that match a stored pattern of characteristics you had considered negative in the past. This triggers an adverse reaction.
Back in the mid-sixties when I was job hunting after graduating from business school, I interviewed at an insurance office. I thought it would be a good fit because my father had his own agency, but during the interview I got a creepy vibe from the agency manager. He seemed intelligent, competent, and pleasant, but there was something not quite right about him. The day after the interview I was offered the job, but turned it down.
A year or so later I ran into someone from one of my business school classes. She told me she had been at that same agency for about two months when the manager propositioned her and threatened to fire her if she didn’t acquiesce. This was about a 13 years before sexual harassment was legally declared to be a form of sex discrimination, so her only choice was to quit the job. I’m glad I paid attention to my gut feeling about that guy.
Your intuition can also help you make decisions. When my husband and I were house hunting shortly after we got married, I thought we had found the perfect home for us. This was nearly 30 years ago, when house inspections weren’t as common as they are today. Even though I had a nagging feeling I kept suppressing, we purchased the house. Over the years we discovered problems with the wiring, plumbing, and insulation that have cost us thousands of dollars over the years. We could probably have bought a vacation home with the money we would have saved if I’d trusted my gut.
Sometimes your instincts will simply alert you to something. Someone I worked with made an appointment with his doctor although he was feeling fine and recently had a physical in which he had checked out fine. He just felt something was wrong. It turned out he had prostate cancer, and because it was found and treated early, he was completely cured.
Another instance in which you should listen to that inner voice is when it’s trying to tell you that something’s right for you. It might be a job you’re applying for, a hobby you’re thinking of taking up, or even a love interest.
In Life Lesson #4, Don’t Fear Change, I wrote about my decision to start my own business. I was petrified I would make a big mistake by forgoing a steady salary to go it on my own. Even though I had a mortgage to pay and children to support, I had a hunch I was not only going to be okay, but I was going to happier in my working life than I had ever been. My gut was right.
It’s not always easy to trust your gut, to disregard your critical, practical thoughts and believe in what your inner voice is telling you. Here are three ways you might practice honing your intuitive skills:
- Listen carefully. If you clutter up your mind with trivial thoughts, you won’t be able to hear what your inner voice is trying to tell you.
- Stop overthinking. Just let your deep feelings come to the surface so you can examine them and determine what direction you should go.
- Journal it. Writing down what you’re thinking just as it pops into your mind will help you bring out your intuitive thoughts.
The more you rely on your instincts, the more comfortable you’ll become in trusting your gut. What has your inner voice told you today?
NOTE: This is the year I celebrate (?) seven decades residing on this planet. My journey so far has taught me many life lessons, so I decided to share some of them with you. I’ll be posting one each day from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
Yesterday: Enjoy Your Own Company
Tomorrow: Be Accountable
