Follow Your Instincts And Hunches!

“Have the courage to do as your heart and your intuition tell you. They already know, in a way, what you really want to become. ”

-Steve Jobs-

Intuition, what is it?

We can define intuition in different ways : the ability to understand things at time T without needing to resort to logic, the ability to make quick decisions unconsciously, etc.

Every day, throughout our lives, we continually make decisions.  Until 10 years ago, social psychology held that decision making should be done consciously and logically.

This is why, we were offered to draw up long lists where we had to enumerate the “pros” and “cons” of each decision, so that we could choose the best of them.

Today, we know that decisions taken instinctively are quite valid, even more so than those taken according to logic and reason.

Throughout the day, we make decisions instinctively and quickly, without going through complex logical or mathematical processes to make our choices. We take one path rather than another, we buy one magazine rather than another, etc.

If we were to rationally analyze all the decisions we make throughout the day, we would never get anywhere on time, and we would take hours to make a decision.

Intuition is a feeling or sensation that sets in the mind very quickly. We do not know the reasons for it, but it prompts us to decide and act. Therefore, intuition usually translates into physical emotions and sensations.

If we want to make a decision, the best thing is to focus on what we feel, on the physical impact that a particular decision can have on us.

You feel well ? Uncomfortable ? Happy ? When you think about all the decisions you might make, how do you feel?

Sometimes the best is to ignore some of the information that we have to make our decision, and to resort to little information in order to be faster, and therefore to make effective decisions.

Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate in economics, says in his book   Thinking quickly, thinking slowly , that we have two ways of thinking:

– System 1, corresponding to rapid, intuitive and emotional thinking.

– System 2, slower, requiring more effort, and being more rational and logical.

The first system allows for quick decisions to be made, and the second for conscious decisions, but often it is not clear which of the two systems was used to make a decision.

How do you decide?

“We prove through logic, but we discover through intuition”

-Henri Poincaré-

To make the right decisions, there is no point in giving importance to a large number of options. It’s more about choosing what you really need.

Our choices are linked to a whole series of general processes and rules that our brain has integrated. You just have to choose the rule that best fits each moment.

For example, if we trust the way we fall in love and if we think about it rationally, we should make a list with all the options, that is to say, detail each woman and each man, the pros. and against them for each case and calculate the probability that there is for what one wants to happen.

As Freud said, “When making small decisions, it is always advantageous to analyze the pros and cons. However, when it comes to essential matters, such as choosing a partner or a job, the decision must come from the subconscious, from a secluded place buried deep within us. To make the really important decisions in our lives, we have to let the deep needs of our nature rule. ”

The reality is that we fall in love based on our instincts, our intuition.

“At sea as in love, generally, it is preferable

to listen to a premonition rather than obey a library ”

-John R. Hale-

On other occasions, according to psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer, we make decisions based on what we know. For example, we choose to buy a book because we have been advised to do so.

Intuitive intelligence

Therefore, based on what was mentioned above, we can say that we have an intuitive intelligence.

This term was used by Canadian sociologist Malcolm Gladwell, who argues that we have the ability to quickly determine what is most important to us.  This ability is intuitive intelligence.

Nowadays, the problem is that we receive too much information, and this information prevents us from making a quick decision, since we consider that it is better to have only a few options. to make the smartest and most efficient decisions possible.

In reality, it is not a question of reasoning, but of listening to our subconscious and our emotions.

Intuitive intelligence has a series of brakes, such as information overload, stress or prejudice.

We should overcome all these obstacles to be able to adequately develop our intuitive intelligence, so that we are able to make decisions quickly, with greater efficiency and based on less information.

“Intuition is a spiritual faculty; she does not explain,

it just shows the way. ”

-Florence Scovel-