By Sunny Simon
Several years ago I was driving down the freeway and became fixated on the back end of a truck transporting a picnic table. Something told me to keep a careful eye on that table. Seconds later I watched the table lift up out of the truck bed. For a moment, it seemed suspended in mid air as the truck charged away. What happened next was scary. The picnic table was headed directly at my car. Quickly noting the lanes to the left and right of me were filled with traveling vehicles, I had no choice but to come to a complete halt while cars zoomed around me at 75 miles per hour. When my car stopped within inches of the picnic table, I whispered up a prayer of immense gratitude.
I made it home safely that night thanks to the signals in my brain going off as a warning. It was not a coincidence that I remained engrossed on observing the truck’s cargo. Chalk it up to an intuitive feeling, I knew something was about to happen.
The phrase, “trust your gut” is more than a cliché. Intuition is a process providing a way of knowing something without taking the time to analyze the data. In this example, I had no time to link my thoughts together about a table being in an open bed truck traveling at a rapid speed down the freeway and wondering whether the table was securely tied down to prevent movement. I just looked at the vehicle and sensed danger. My inner voice alerted me to remain focused.
Intuition is a useful tool. According to Kelly Turner, PhD we should trust our gut because it is operated by the right side of our brain dubbed as the limbic and reptilian region. In a recent article in Psychology Today, Dr. Turner states, we should listen to our inner voice because “our unconscious mind searches through the past, present, and future and connects with hunches and feelings in a nonlinear way.” It often knows the right answer before the left more analytical part of our brain does. Not only is the right side of our brain adept at sensing danger, as Steve Jobs pointed out, intuition can be “more powerful than intellect.”
Challenge yourself this week to pay more attention to your intuitive voice. It can not only keep you out of a jam, it can help you make better decisions by connecting with your deepest inner wisdom.
Sunny Simon is the owner of Raise the Bar High Life and Career Coaching. More about Sunny at www.raisethebarhigh.com
