Monday, September 19, 2011

Don't lose your GUT.

Contrary to popular belief, I think that you should keep your gut instead of trying to lose it. Having a gut is good for you!

No, no, people people!!! I'm not talking about your TUMMY gut... I'm talking about your MIND gut.
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We are so much smarter than we think we are. Our brain is such a powerful instrument that can do some crazy cool things... We just need to learn how to use and embrace it.

We have something in us that can produce magical things, if used correctly...that's our intuition. I highly respect and admire individuals who allow their gut feelings to guide them in their decision making. This type of individual is confident in themselves. They understand that while gathering information and asking for others viewpoints is important, keeping their intuition at the forefront is just as powerful. Sometimes, they even make decisions based solely off what their gut is telling them. And they are okay if their intuition turns out to be wrong because they know that their intentions were sound.  How freaking awesome are these people? Pretty freaking awesome.

In school, we are taught to analyze facts, gather data, conduct experiments, and do research.... all great things, but do you notice a trend? None include using your own brain power, your own conscious, nor your own intuition. How easy is it to pick up a book and read? How easy is it to do research? To read what other people have come up with? To write an essay based off of factual information? Or shoot, to write an essay about someone else's intuition? Yeah, it might take a lot of time to do all the above, but it doesn't require using your conscious.

Do you think think karma exists? Why do you think the divorce rate is so high? Is your girlfriend/boyfriend cheating on you? Is there really a God? Is so-and-so telling the truth? All evidence and theory aside, what does your gut tell you?

Something we don't learn about in school is the adaptive unconscious, which Malcolm Gladwell talks about in his book, Blink. The adaptive unconscious is a fancy shmancy word that describes intuition. It is basically our capability of making very quick judgments based on very little information. This rapid cognition is real and is happening to us 24/7, but we have learned to ignore it. We have learned to not trust our natural instincts unless there is hard evidence/lots of information to support it. The irony is that a lot of times our snap judgments and first impressions can make much more sense of the world than anything else.

My gut tells me that I'm supposed to be home in northern California (even though I miss Long Beach so incredibly much). My gut tells me who are good guys and who aren't. My gut tells me that I made the right choice in choosing to work for Target (even though I was job offered by a few other good companies). My gut tells me who I should and shouldn't trust.

My gut hasn't always been right though. And that's okay. Intuition is not a guaranteed telling of something. No one can tell the future, see through walls, read minds, etc. Intuition is simply having trust in your own spirit. To some people, intuition is God talking to them.

The coolest thing about intuition, I think, is that it's yours and yours alone. Following your intuition is a solo move - you act on what you are telling yourself to do, without anyone else's influence. The more you embrace your intuition, the more and more self-confident and self-dependent you become. Pretty awesome stuff. My gut tells me that I should trust my gut... not even sure if that makes sense, but I have a gut feeling that it does.

What is your gut telling you?

1 comment:

  1. Well said! We are born with this ability for a reason. It's outside influences that challenge us to ignore our most primal instint and not listen to our "gut". We are born with this ability for a reason. Thank you for shining light on this very important topic.

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