You know that sense we often get when someone makes us feel bad, and we instantly think “I should cut them out of my life”? Or the eerie sense we get when we think we should probably start looking for a new job, but don’t, and then sure enough end up getting laid off or fired? How about when you have an instinct that your partner is cheating only to find out months later that they were cheating? How about that annoying feeling when we know we should not procrastinate, yet we choose to procrastinate anyway and end up regretting it? What if I were to tell you there is no such thing as a gut instinct? Honestly, just think about it…the answers to our problems do not originate in our stomachs, they come from a place much more advanced.
What if we looked at the information formally referred to as a “gut instinct” differently? Let’s stop calling it a gut instinct and call it what it really is…our very smart, very capable brains formulating the solution to a problem. Once our brain has recognized the answer to a problem, worry, or issue, it sends a quick, impromptu flash of the answer to us. For instance, when our brain flashes on a particular answer on a test but we debate it in our heads and decide to go with a different answer, only to find out later, that the initial answer was correct. Too often we have a “gut instinct” moment, then dispute or refute the information and disregard the “gut instinct”.
So how can we address this “gut instinct” in a more productive way? Whenever our mind is worried or anxious or struggling with a particular problem and instinctively gives us an answer, we need to recognize that it is absolutely one hundred percent coming from our brains. Our brain was working alongside us the whole time, doing its job, computing answers for us, and has already calculated the best answer to our present issue…. we just need to listen. So, from now on, let’s stop listening to our stomachs and give our brain its proper credit.
