Gut feelings have many names like instinct, hunch, or deeper knowing. It is something that allows you to understand immediately about something but without any conscious reasoning. This means you can get solutions and answers for problems but not know how or why you got them. It can even help you to take big or small business decisions with ease.
Is relying on gut feeling right or wrong?
In today’s big data age, relying only upon your gut feeling might not provide be a good deal. In research, the term that refers to such aspects is ‘Intuition’. It is frequently dismissed as unreliable or mystical. It can be fallible. According to studies, gut feelings when paired with analytical thinking can help make more accurate, faster, and better business transactions and related decisions. It also provides confidence to make better choices when compared to relying only upon your intellect. It holds true if one tends to overthink or if no single ‘correct’, clear-cut option is present.
The Science behind gut feelings
When intuition is concerned, there is perhaps present some deep neurological basis. Scientists for a reason term the stomach as the ‘2nd brain’. 100 million neurons and neural networks tend to line up the entire digestive tract. This shows the incredible processing abilities of the gut. The Brain tends to work along with the gut and evaluates quickly your memories. It also assesses your preferences, personal needs, and past learning, thus helping you to make wise decisions. You can also consider partner investment without much worry. Thus, intuition can be termed to be a type of experiential and emotional data that leaders should value.
Derive the benefits
Although you might not be using your intuition consciously, still you can Trust it and enjoy benefits in your day-to-day life and in business. While weighing a decision, you are likely to get that heavy feeling in your stomach. It is the gut that tends to talk quite loud and clear. For instance, being a manager, your direct reports might perhaps warn you of your team getting demotivated. It will also signal you to take appropriate steps for re-engaging them.
How to Trust your intuition to make good decisions?
1. Fall back on core values: Core values tend to represent important things to do in your life or at work or even when taking business decisions. Some examples are calmness, family, stability, diversity, freedom, etc. There are times you might get agitated if things don’t go as you had planned. Your core values pinpoint the source of this agitation and frustration while allowing us to understand the same more clearly. Take some time to reflect on your top values. If you struggle in making a decision, then determine what decision or action can help you to move closer to such core values.
2. Distinguish gut feeling clear from that fear: Fear is said to have to push energy. It is like trying to select an option or force something just to avoid punishment, rejection, or threat. You could feel desperate, panicky, or even tense. Self-critical thoughts might result in fear thus urging you to compromise, conform or hide. But intuition has pulling energy. It helps you to move towards choosing your best interest. It could even mean moving more slowly than others or pursuing some risky venture or partner investment. With intuition, you feel your inner voice to be wiser and grounded similar to a good mentor.
Useful advice to follow
It is not possible for intuition to flourish in stressful, busy environments. Rather, the mind should be provided some space to wander as well as make necessary connections. Although not perfect, it can help in making decisions and in carrying out business transactions.
