4 situations when it is worth listening to your intuition

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There is no sixth sense, but sometimes our brains tell us what to do.

Should you take your intuition seriously?

There are different approaches to understanding intuition. Some believe that this is a mysterious sixth sense, with the help of which the universe or the gods tell a person what to do. Or they treat intuition as a kind of psychic ability that allows you to look into the future. Therefore, it is imperative to listen to it.

Others believe that intuition does not exist, all this is quackery and esotericism, which means that you should not rely on it.

Until the existence of extrasensory abilities has been proven, so it makes no sense to explain any phenomenon by them. Just like rejecting the existence of intuition, considering it only as an invention of esotericists.

Science is trying to find a rational explanation for such sudden "insights". True, the opinions of psychiatrists, psychologists and scientists about intuition were also divided. But the approaches only at first glance seem to be different, in fact they are very similar.

• Intuition is the work of the subconscious. This idea was followed, for example, by Carl Jung. Its essence is that a certain layer of information and feelings is hidden on the lower "floor" of our psyche, which sometimes breaks out from there in the form of dreams, fantasies or intuition.
• Intuition is a common thought process. It's just that it happens very quickly and is not always realized by us. That is, the brain processes and analyzes all available information, as well as past experience and knowledge that are relevant to the case, and produces a result. This is a kind of insight, which may also look like a sudden flash of knowledge, but in fact occurs after careful processing of the data.

If you treat your intuition in this way - not as a mysterious sixth sense, but as an ordinary analysis of information - it makes sense to obey it sometimes.

But since the brain is not an impartial computer and is based on its own subjective experience, intuition, of course, can be wrong. Therefore, you should not completely rely on her when you need to make fateful decisions.

When you can trust your intuition

Psychologists offer several basic options.

1. If you are in a stressful situation

You have very little time, you are very anxious or scared, you think poorly, you are under pressure - in such circumstances it is not easy to make a choice.

Let's say you run away from someone or get lost in an unfamiliar place without a navigator, or they shout at you and demand something.

In such conditions, it is still impossible to weigh all the facts calmly and judiciously, so it makes sense to listen to your “inner voice”. It is possible that the brain has already analyzed what is happening and suggested an option that seems optimal to it.

2. If you already had a similar experience

For example, let's say you want to buy a car, it's not the first time you've done it, and you feel like your heart is in a certain option. It is quite possible that the matter is not in the “heart”, but in the fact that last time you already learned a lot about how to choose a car, and now this information helps you a lot.

Or another example. An experienced mother feels when a child gets sick, even if he looks quite healthy and vigorous. It may look like intuition - as if it foresees something. But in reality, she just got used to noticing very tiny signs of a cold, such as a slight change in mood or a slightly dazed look. And if the mother “has a presentiment” that the child will have a fever in the evening, it is quite possible to listen to this: go to the pharmacy, warn the manager that he will have to stay at home.

3. If you have very little information

And there is no way to get it. For example, let's say you decide to win the lottery and choose a lucky ticket. Or you answer very difficult test questions and try to guess the right answer.

In such cases, there is so little data that intuition is the only thing to turn to. Most likely, she will not tell you the correct answer, but it certainly won't be worse.

4. If you feel like something is wrong

Let's say you come on a date that seems to be going well, but you still have some kind of anxious feeling, a sense of danger. Or, for some inexplicable reason, it seems to you that a business partner is hiding something from you, or maybe a friend, relative or colleague is cheating on you.

In such cases, it is hardly worthwhile to immediately break off the relationship or start a quarrel only on the basis of intuitive guesses. But it doesn't hurt to take a break, observe the person's behavior, and pay more attention to detail. It is quite possible that you have already noticed some alarm bells, but you just are not yet aware of this.

What is important to remember about intuition

In any case, this is not a universal source of correct answers. Believing her unconditionally is not very wise. But it is also rash to write off completely. The sixth sense is a reason to stop, analyze the situation, once again carefully weigh all the facts that you have, and then make a decision.