Trusting Your Intuition
I had a feeling that something weird was happening. I couldn’t figure out why. Nothing specific was out of the ordinary, or even the slightest bit untoward. But something in that instant message gave me the creeps, even if I trusted the source. I logged off as quickly as I could and tried to the shake the feeling that my friend was up to something sneaky and trying to drag me into a bad situation.
For the next few weeks, I couldn’t stop thinking of that weird interaction. “How self-centered can I be? Do I honestly think that my friend has nothing better to do than try to screw me over in very obscure ways?” Well, as it turned out, she didn’t. Thankfully, my sixth sense practically shoved me out of harm’s way. Score one for the those hairs on the back of my neck.
Gut Instinct or Load of Crap?
I actually prefer the term “intuition.” It just sounds a little more legit (and has fewer creepy Bruce Willis associations). The incident described above happened a few years ago, and I was reminded of it recently after chatting with a local sheriff. In describing when it would be appropriate for an employee to call the local police, he specifically mentioned the sixth sense. “When you feel the hairs on your arms rise, trust that feeling,” was his advice.
Where Do Those Feelings Come From?
As it turns out, what we perceive as intuition often has very real roots. You notice something out of place, a behavior that’s unusual, or a change in a person’s mannerisms. You’re not consciously aware of all these details (Can you imagine having to actually process all those thoughts?), but you’re still absorbing them anyway. When something falls out of place, you notice—you get a feeling of intuition.
What to Do with Gut Feelings
For many of us, it’s not a question of whether we have moments of intuition, it’s when to actually use that information. There’s no real answer for this, but it’s rarely a bad idea to heighten your awareness of your surroundings and the people around you. I’m not recommending living your life on edge, just offering a bit of encouragement. What might seem crazy is sometimes the voice of reason.
When you’re faced with a ridiculous amount of input and stimuli, sometimes you’ve got to go back to the basics when sorting through it all. Sometimes that can mean listening to your gut, even if you’re convinced your guts have crap for brains.
Have you had moments of intuition that turned out to be right? How about completely wrong? And is intuition real and trustworthy, or just the basis of irrational fear? I’d love it if you’d share your thoughts in the comments on this one!
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This post has 16 comments
October 13th, 2009
Great post… I think there’s definitely something to be said for intuition. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but I do believe in listening to it!
Positively Present´s last blog ..finding hope on the bright side of the road
October 13th, 2009
I grew up with a mom who boarders slightly on the paranoid side (at age 26 I am still cautioned not to take the trash out after dark) but one thing she instilled in me was to trust my intuition. This is kind of an extreme example, but when she was in college in Ann Arbor in the 60s there was this guy going around murdering co-eds. One night my mom’s roommate was out and she came home saying that she met this guy, but she felt there was something “off” about him…she guessed that maybe he had a girlfriend. She ended up not going out with him that night, but gave him her number and said that he could call her to make a date at a later time. She never heard from him. A few months later he was arrested as the serial killer John Norman Collins.
October 13th, 2009
I agree with your ideas as well. I had a teacher back in high school who EVERYONE loved, but I thought there was something off about him. I never trusted him, never liked him. A year later he got fired because they discovered he was a child molester. I feel that I have a 6th sense when it comes to judging sketchy people. Sometimes you just KNOW.
Christine´s last blog ..Becoming More Minimalist
October 13th, 2009
You didn’t tell us the end of the story! What was the weird IM and why was it harmful?
Caitlin´s last blog ..Travelantics: Football in Argentina
October 13th, 2009
Yes, yes, yes. Intuition is real and I’ve definitely had many experiences of it. In your post you’re talking about intuition that warns us, and I’ve had that. The one that clearly comes to mind is taking a job that my intuition told me would be all wrong for me. (And it was, by the way. But I didn’t listen). There’s also intuition that gives us the go ahead, that says, despite all our fears, “Go forward, things will work out.” I think you can cultivate that kind of intuition, which I wrote about in my last blog post. Thanks for the great topic!
Patty – Why Not Start Now?´s last blog ..Seven Ways to Bring On the Epiphanies
October 13th, 2009
I’ve had those goose bump moments. God gives us instincts. They’re in the spiritual realm so they can’t be explained away. Sometimes you just KNOW.
October 13th, 2009
I always listen to my intuition and I am always grateful to have listened to it. I believe intuition is like a yellow card that is meant for us to pick up. Don’t wait for the red card to show up.
October 13th, 2009
My mother has always had, and still has, a strong sense of intuition. As I was growing up, she would sometimes guide me to make a certain decision or “follow a certain path.” Those suggestions almost always turned out well.
I park my car on a residential street during the day, just off the campus where I teach. A few days ago, as I locked the car, a thought came to me that I should move it to another location. I continued to walk away but couldn’t shake the feeling. Finally, I went back and moved the car. I never saw anything out of place that afternoon when I returned, but I felt relieved with the car in the new location. I usually obey “the still small voice.”
October 14th, 2009
This is a major one for me.
I get this feeling whenever I feel like I forget to bring something with me, whether it is my wallet, my cellphone, or an important document of some sort.
This intuitive feeling is usually strong enough to make myself question if I didn’t bring something important along with me. Usually when I get this specific feeling, I end up forgetting something!
I go back to my original place and it’s there. I know this sounds weird, but I don’t know why or what it is. I just trust that feeling.
Tristan Lee´s last blog ..The Benefits of Becoming a Better Listener
October 14th, 2009
My wife’s all about her intuition. To be honest, I don’t understand it, but she swears by it.
The scientist in me tends to think in terms of unconscious response to stimuli. Whatever your belief though, it’s worked for her in the past…
Greg´s last blog ..Confessions Of A Workout Slacker
October 14th, 2009
I am very intuitive and following my intuition has never never been a mistake. Only when I don’t recognize or follow my gut do things go wrong…Sometimes very wrong.
October 14th, 2009
I am a firm believer in intuition/sixth sense/gut feeling. I experience it alot but do not listen to it so well! But am learning to. A couple of things that stand out are people that my husband and I became friends with. In the begining I had an uneasy feeling about the couple but cast it aside. Three years into the friendship I remembered back to the feeling and wished I had listened because I was in the midst of a relationship that was full of mind games and verbal/emotional abuse. And over 3 years ago I took a job that on the first day a voice inside me said, ” I don’t belong here.” Sure enough – I am still in this job and MISERABLE – desperately seeking a way out!! I really need to listen to my inner wisdom.
October 14th, 2009
I have a story about intuition that encouraged me to go ahead with something I wasn’t sure about:
A friend had recently discovered some major life-changing news and decided to tell me about it, but I didn’t know him that well so I didn’t know how to comfort him. Later that evening I was celebrating another friend’s graduation from medical school and I couldn’t stop thinking about that guy and what he must be going through mentally. I excused myself from the party and drove over to his apartment unannounced. He was normally the closed-off type so I had every reason to believe he’d tell me he was fine and turn me away, but I was willing to risk the rejection. I ended up sitting on his couch for quite some time, listening to him as he completely opened up about his new situation and responsibilities. Later he hugged me and thanked me for coming over… that it was exactly what he needed. He has never opened up to me like that again, so I guess it really was all about the timing.
Never be afraid to be a friend to people.
Kelsi´s last blog ..Self-Portrait Party
October 14th, 2009
I am a firm believer that intuition is always there, that it’s something we do indeed possess on an instinctive level. We just get too caught up with both abstractions and distractions to tune and recognize it as much as we could.
I just wrote about intuition over the weekend, from a different perspective though. Not from the perspective of heeding it when it emerges through the mind clutter in our lives but rather tuning into purposefully. But I just I totally enjoyed reading about the “hairs on end”, more urgent aspect of it here, so thank you!
Miche | Serenity Hacker´s last blog ..How to Get From Boredom to Intuition
October 19th, 2009
Thanks for another great post. I’ve always been a firm believer in other people’s intuition, but as someone who grew up with self-esteem issues, never quite trusted by own. I’ve learned better as I’ve grown older… the self-esteem issues are gone and don’t make a move on anything or anybody that gives me the heeby-jeebies.
Christine Simiriglia´s last blog ..Cure Your Kitchen
October 21st, 2009
There is a book “The Gift of Fear” on that very subject. It was based on that idea that fear (or that sudden uneasiness) is valid and gives all sorts of clues to pay attention to for avoiding the VERY serious situations.
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