Why we know more
than we think
Can we trust our intuition?
The little voice in your head. That one gut feeling. The indefinable “it just feels right. Intuition was long seen as something floaty, but now more and more scientists are recognizing it as a serious source of information. An indispensable complement to your rational thinking.
What exactly is intuition?
Suppose you meet a new colleague. Even before he says anything, you’ve already gotten a first impression. That’s not magic. Within a hundred milliseconds, your brain forms an initial image of someone. After five minutes of observation, you can predict with about 70% accuracy whether someone is more likely to be extroverted, introspective, intelligent or analytical.
Your subconscious mind has little to do with predicting the future. More with the way your brain stores information. Everything you’ve ever seen, heard, felt or experienced is stored in your subconscious. Intuition is the way that silent database signals to your conscious thinking.
Trust your gut feeling
In situations where reflexes win out over thinking, people remarkably often make good decisions. Research among people in life-threatening, “do or die” situations shows that they almost always respond to intuition. According to neurologist Antonio Damasio, this is because experiences take on an emotional charge. If something goes wrong, your subconscious stores it as negative. Did something work, then that event gets a positive charge. This “body wisdom” recognizes patterns faster than you think.
A well-known experiment by social psychologist John Bargh, of Yale University, shows the same thing. Subjects were shown images at lightning speed, such as a laughing baby or a growling dog. They did not consciously see it, yet they could accurately indicate whether the image was positive or negative. So your intuition reacts before you consciously perceive.
Intuitive vs. rational choices
Intuition often helps, but not always. Within a split second, your brain forms an opinion. It works quickly, but also selectively. Once you have a first impression, you tend to look for information that confirms it. You see what you expect to see. As a result, your objectivity diminishes while your conviction grows. This is why you need both intuition and reason. Your gut warns, your reason nuances. When you combine the two, you make choices that are right for both your gut and your head.
Want to learn how to make easier choices and combine reason and intuition? Then take a look at the training course The Art of Choosing.
