Instinct according to my treasured 30 year old Webster, means, "a natural aptitude. behavior, originating below the conscious level. " There is also a third meaning for instinct, but today, there is more than enough to learn from the two meanings I have shared..
Below the conscious level. I know when I meet someone for the first time, I utilize, gut instinct ,
Instinct kicks in from the subconscious level, and messages our brain which then, gives you a reading whether you like someone or you don't in less than 10 seconds! The problem? We have one side of our brain, which focuses on rational, concrete thinking. The other side of the brain? Intuition and Instinct. I think we all should work on making the most of our God given gifts. If you would like to work on strengthening your instinct as I am learning to do, step one? We need to combine both our rational linear thinking with our instinct and intuition. (left and right)
Our instinct can save our life! Instinct, is a God Given protector. Instinct, however can't help us if we choose not to use it. According to Judith Orloff, PhD, Author of "Second Sight", There are five things we absolutely should not ignore when our instinct kicks in.
1. Something feels wrong in my body. We nickname our instinct our "gut feeling" for a reason. I've also found our "instinct" kicks in within the first 10 seconds of assessing a situation or people. Gut feeling is literal. We actually have a physical reaction in our stomach, and also other parts of our body, such as sweaty hands.
2. I am in DANGER- When I was 12 years old, a car was slowly driving down the street. I remember feeling instantly, I should run. Sure enough, that car, followed me all the way home and sped away. Looking back, that was sheer instinct.
3. I want to HELP- We all get a "feeling" ( our instinct) when another person, or situation requires our immediate attention. Follow your feelings and help the person. Our brain, actually produces extra endorphins, (our feel good chemical), when we follow through and help!
4. I know how to do this-Not long ago, I was in a relationship with someone I loved, and cared about. However, looking back, the first time I met him, my gut instinct told me there was something "off". He said all the proper things, and was so complimentary, I found myself focusing on his words, rather than listening to my instinct. I literally used my rational mind, and convinced myself to ignore my initial instinct. I could continue in the relationship and it ended in disaster three years later. WE can "think ourselves" (linear, rational side of the brain) out of what our instincts(10 second siren), will tell us. That is why it is so important we learn to be cognizant of the two sides, and use both, working together, in making our decisions!
5. This is IT! I remember getting a job offer with a company I worked for, over five very happy years. I had two other offers, (the economy was good, at the time), but immediately, after interviewing, my gut, which I listened to, made a great decision! This also applies to picking your soul mate. Those of you reading this who have found their soul mate including myself, know, the relationship, "just felt right" so we went with our instincts.
Have you ever had your phone ring, and you "just knew, who was calling before looking at caller ID? Had a strong feeling something good was going to happen, and it did? Acted on a whim, and decided to go on one date, and ended up marrying the man or woman of your dreams a month later? Instinct!
I think this is one of the most important wisdom words, I have written about so far. I am working on "connecting my instinct (left brain thinking) with my rational, linear thinking (right brain). I hope today, someone will read this, who is struggling with a very important decision, and this will help them make it.
I will close with this. Any God Given gift, such as instinct, (our inner voice), should be given to ourselves, so we can make the best decisions possible. Instinct, and being aware of how extraordinary and powerful it is, will lead personal growth and focusing on our second voice: Our innate instinct, we were born with. If we don't challenge ourselves with personal growth at all times, we cheat ourselves from growing internally, which is the most important growth of all, and following our instinct, is the gift of self preservation. SL
5 comments:
I found the blog so interesting, before I knew it; it had ended
Thank you! I appreciate your feedback!
INSTINCT: This was phenomenal, i NEED to listen to my gut more often. I feel like our intuition can be our guide, it's more than a feeling, it's God telling us something important I believe. Well written, always inspiring and a reason to grow...
This is great advice!! I always focus on logic more than my instincts, and am sometimes led down the wrong path. I will pay attention to my intuition more in the future, especially when I have one of these five feelings. Thanks for writing this.
This is a great post! I think sometimes people mistake instinct for fear or nervousness. If you get a bad feeling about something, there's probably a good reason why. Thanks for sharing.
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