There is a lot of information about what is intuition (and what isn't), when you can trust it, and how you can improve it. You might be surprised at how much you can benefit from your gut feeling when you know how to use it correctly.
What Is Intuition?
Intuition has three main features, which are:
- Subliminal, which means that it works unconsciously.
- Automatic, which means we cannot control when it gives us information.
- Very fast, which means that it provides information in the form of feelings and emotions.
Intuition is often described as matching a pattern. It sees a certain thing, finds something close and similar to that thing, and creates the same impression without any other facts. This is where its strength and danger lies. It is very fast, but it does not provide us with a detailed analysis or explanation. Most importantly, intuition does not require conscious thinking. Any justification or reading of your inner feelings is not considered as intuition.
How Did Intuition Develop?
Some of our intuition might be innate, but it mainly develops through exposure to situations. When an event that has tangible consequences occurs, especially emotional ones, our brains and bodies naturally learn from it.
Leading experts Daniel Kahneman and Gary Klein believe that useful intuition is best developed through practice in structured environments. In this context, “practice” means repeated exposure to basic patterns with precision over a sufficient period of time, and structured environments are particular events in which similar patterns produce similar results.
When Should You Use Intuition, and When Should You Not Use It?
Researchers note that different experts have varying rates of success when relying on their intuition. Daniel found that the predictions of stock traders and political experts are unreliable, while Gary found that firefighters and nurses consistently perform well in this regard.
The difference is that firefighters and nurses have extensive experience in structured environments, while stock traders and political experts, no matter how experienced they are, cannot be relied upon because their environments are not structured.
If a situation does not produce consistent results when taking the same actions, the brain cannot learn reliable patterns. Howewer, our brains unfortunately continue to learn patterns. What is even worse is that they will not stop making predictions through intuition. So, you will continue to feel that the information you receive is urgent and logical, as if intuition builds logical connections.
Things can also go wrong when you don't have enough experience to know what useful patterns exist. Some environments have more subtle differences in patterns than others, and require more practice.
You can rely on your intuition if you are going through a situation you have experienced many times before. Continuous efforts lead to consistent results. You can probably rely on your intuition, or you can develop it at least so that you can rely on it in the future.
If there are minor negative consequences for your bad intuition, it might be better to listen to it. If it goes wrong, consider it an opportunity to learn and influence your intuition. This is especially valid in dangerous environments, where ignoring your worries might cause serious damage.
Intuition can also be very useful when you have little time to make decisions. When analysis is not possible, using your intuition might be the best thing you can do.
How Can I Enhance My Intuition? Is It Useful Even If I Don't Trust It?
There is a simple exercise you can use to improve and benefit from your intuition in any situation, even when you don't trust it:
- When your intuition gives you information, try to brainstorm to discover the reason for the feelings you are experiencing. Don't worry about being wrong; the goal is to start somewhere.
- Once you have a set of logical explanations, test them. For example, if you are thinking about why someone responded in a certain way, you can ask them some questions to determine whether you made a correct guess. However, in a professional environment, you must collect more facts or data to support (or reject) the information provided by your intuition.
- Repeat this exercise whenever you get the opportunity.
Not only will this exercise help you develop your intuition in every situation you go through, but it will also help you identify structured environments and how much practice each might require.
In Conclusion
If you're having trouble knowing when to trust your intuition or understand what it's telling you, consider seeing a psychologist. Speaking about your situations will help you process what happened and provide you with an objective assessment of whether you are learning the appropriate patterns and outcomes. People who are in good psychological health benefit from this process just as much as those who are struggling with their mental health.
Whether you believe you are a naturally intuitive person or you don't trust your intuition, learning how to use your intuition appropriately can have many benefits in all aspects of your life. Our intuition might not be very useful, but it is essential to our well-being, and can be greatly improved with a little effort.
Add comment