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“Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.” Agatha Christie

Have you ever had that gut feeling that something wasn’t right and you later regretted not paying attention to that sensation? A gut feeling is that visceral reaction, the reaction or sensation you feel in your body, that you have that is without any logical or rational thought. When making decisions, we don’t just rationalize a thought we pay attention to logic and emotions. You may have noticed as you search for solutions to a problem or issue at hand that you give weight to what confirms your assumption.

There are times you may feel guilty for trusting your gut versus gathering all the facts. Sometimes trusting your gut instinct is knowing things before you know them. It is that déjà vu; it is like you been there before. Your gut is sometimes referred to as your second brain however many will tell you not to trust it alone.

Instinct is what we use to protect ourselves. It is a matter of survival. By trusting your gut, you are also recognizing when something doesn’t feel right and that you need to pay attention to your body. There are times you may recognize that there is a risk of being in danger as you walk past someone on the street at night. When faced with a new situation where there is uncertainty you might have a gut reaction that tells you that you know how to do it and you figure it out. Sometimes listening to your gut means also knowing when to give a helping hand and help someone in need. You may have noticed someone needs help based on their facial expressions. It may be that you notice a person in tears. It may be that you pay attention to body language or cues in the conversation and ask probing questions. People often try to hide their sadness or disappointment. When people follow their gut, and truly trust the process, they may feel that they discovered an answer or solution. They may have been waiting for a signal and a song on the radio played or visual image came to them in a dream. It was the answer they were looking for so they were going to trust their gut.

The great news about intuition is that it is not exclusive to any one person. We all have the ability to use our intuition to trust our gut. This ability is something that comes naturally to us; however, it’s we often get too busy to recognize and listen to what we need to hear. I was watching a 2012 TedxTalk Sacramento regarding “Learned Intuition” with Patrick Schwerdtfeger and he was talking about at how at any one time we have 10 million observations going through our unconscious mind and we only attach or bring to our attention 100 with our conscious mind. We have a need to organize the information that comes in. We develop a learned intuition because it comes from our experience and expertise which he describes as making us almost a superhero. How do we develop experiences and expertise? – Immersion. If you want to learn French learn in France. A person will make greater improvements by doing practicing their skill or a sport over a period a consecutive number of days versus 1 hour per week. Interesting!

To develop your intuition you need to:

Pay attention to the situation. Step away from situations that cause you distress. This is your body’s way of warning you. Don’t push feelings away it is important to explore them. How does the situation make you feel? If something doesn’t feel right, change it.

Tap into your knowledge. Take time to examine the facts. How much do you know? What facts do you have at hand? Look for patterns and links between the information you gather the facts at hand.

Identify your feelings. What is influencing or informing your feelings? Pay attention. Are you being influenced by external factors such as a radio commercial, comments by a friend or family member, or something on the news?

Align what you know with what you feel. Does what you know online with how you’re feeling? You tend to gather information based on the people that you meet and the relationships that you experience. Sometimes people don’t acknowledge their feelings and they are looking for evidence based on actions. Whereas, others may analyze the situation and use what they’re feeling as confirmation to proceed.

What I find is that many of you listening including myself, sometimes take these whispers or gut checks for granted. They may show up in the form of dreams or hunches and we brushed them off. There is often an important message being shared. I believe in this busy world that sometimes we get further ahead when we slow down and clear our mind to consciously pay attention and practice paying attention to the world around us. The sign that you might be looking for to make an important decision may arrive.

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DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

Time: 15:25 min

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