Trusting Your "Gut"

by Dianne J. Shaver, M.A.

Successful people in any walk of life have many things in common.  One of those things is that they trust their "gut".  That "hit" that tells them this is something they should go for.  Or this is something they should walk away from.  We all have that ability and a great deal of our success rests on our willingness to take the chance and trust what we sense. 

Everyone is born with it but sometimes we get so focused on facts and figures we temporarily lose our ability to trust that part of our self.  Einstein talked about getting his intuitive hits while he slept, in his dreams which is another way our intuition speaks to us. 

Why does this matter in business?  There are times when two options seem equally good or equally bad.  Which do you choose?  Or should you create something entirely different?  How do you know which way to turn?  You got it!  If you slow down, take a few deep breaths you will be able to tune into your gut and you will know exactly what to do.  You might not know why you should do It but you will know what to do.

Intuition is a different kind of thinking.  It's when data comes in so fast and so complete that you can't take it apart.  You don't know the why but you certainly know the what.  Our linear bran is a lot slower plus it brings in extraneous data which may or may not be helpful or accurate.  I have a friend who is a Trekie.  He loves Spock because he is so logical.  But Spock wasn't human and he didn't have the benefit of our gift of intuition. 

Despite what Spock would say about it our intuition is never wrong.  It might lead us to something we hadn't thought of but where it leads us will always be just right.

Like anything else the more you use it the more skilled you will be at listening to and following your intuition.  It's important enough to experiment and try it for yourself.  See where following your gut takes you.  Gather evidence.  You will be amazed.

One thing you have to know though is that you have to slow down, take time out of a busy schedule, be quiet, be present in the moment to hear it and it takes practice.  It doesn't happen over night.  But the rewards are amazing and your business and your life in general will flow more smoothly.  You will be in the right place at the right time without really knowing why and you will know the course of action that leads to success.