How intuition works and should you trust it

What is intuition

It is the ability to quickly understand or know something through the senses without having to think or apply logic. Intuition works when you have a bad feeling or when faced with a difficult choice, you accidentally make the right decision. Usually intuition is subjective, manifests itself spontaneously and, as it may seem, regardless of your opinion.

However, it is more common than you might think. For example, a survey of 36 executives showed that 85% of them rely on it when making decisions. There is also research that dentists use their sense of smell even more often than they should.

How intuition works and why the brain needs it

Today science considers intuition to be a complex instrument of consciousness, which is born from the interaction of the senses, reason and experience and plays a significant role in cognition and decision-making.

Throughout our life, the brain notices patterns, connects facts and phenomena with each other, creates patterns on their basis. Most often this happens unintentionally and unconsciously.

Intuition works on such associations. It gives out subconscious emotional information before we make a conscious decision, and helps us not to waste extra resources on thinking. This is how we learn to predict all sorts of things, including the consequences of our actions and the behavior of other people.

In fact, this is a different method of cognition and thinking, which is similar to instinct. Although intuition is not always accurate, it works very quickly and does not require much concentration.

At the same time, we tend to both give intuitive beliefs more attention than we should, and underestimate them. For example, we often trust the first impression, which gives rise to prejudice. Or we abandon the original correct decision, considering it spontaneous, in favor of the wrong one.

Should you trust your intuition

Scientists say that intuition can help you make a decision that you will not doubt later.

For example, Dutch psychologists in 2006 concluded that intuition works well when there are many factors to be considered. They found that those who were guided by their instincts when buying a car or home are 2.5 times more satisfied with the purchase than those who have compared the pros and cons for a long time. Experts have called intuition "thinking without attention."

But this does not mean at all that you need to abandon rational thinking.

Intuition can fail, as it only creates preliminary hypotheses that need to be tested. Sixth Sense relies heavily on emotion, and its predictions are often subjective. For example, our instincts can be clouded by negative childhood experiences, complexes, fears, mental trauma. In addition, intuition is unlikely to be useful in areas in which a person does not understand. Or in poorly predictable areas, such as the world economy.

The accuracy of intuition depends on many things, and everyone has to decide for themselves whether or not to rely on it. It is believed that intuition gives the most correct clues when we allow it to work freely: we do not reason and act “on autopilot”.

Is it true that some people have better intuition?

All people are different and have different abilities, which can affect the development of intuition. For example, the ability to perceive and assimilate information is important, as well as a person's thinking style and how much he is willing to rely on intuition. If you do not trust your "sixth sense", then it, most likely, will not be developed.

How to develop your intuition

Scientists' knowledge of intuition is still at the level of theory and hypothesis, but there are several tips that can help.

Reflect

Take time to think: when you don't have to do something and you can think about what is happening or may happen. This will help establish more relationships, including non-obvious ones, between people, events, facts, own feelings and thoughts. This is where journaling, walking, meditation and mindfulness practices come in handy.

Listen to physical sensations

Intuition can be subtle. For example, in a feeling of heaviness or butterflies in the stomach. This is because there are about 100 million neurons in the gut. It is even called the "second brain".

Of course, this does not mean that the digestive system can think. But it does affect mood. For example, it can reflect negative feelings through physical discomfort. Such signals may indicate intuitive anxiety. So sometimes it's worth listening to those feelings.

Also, experts from the UK are sure that a person's intuition largely depends on how well he monitors his heartbeat. For example, an increased heart rate means emotional excitement, which can also be considered a signal.

Evolve

Everything you do improves your intuition. Reading, playing sports, socializing, having fun, working - everything becomes part of the “sixth sense”. And the more experience you have in a particular area, the better your intuition will work in this area. Therefore, if you, for example, want to "read" other people, communicate more and study psychology.