Rebuilding Rob

I’ve read a few responses to this prompt already; and I didn’t really want to be one of those people who was going to get into the semantics between instinct versus intuition, but here goes…

Oxford languages, via Google, defines instinct as:

“an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain”. 

Seeking nourishment, shelter, and sleeping are instincts. On the flip side, it defines intuition as:

the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. 
Ex: “we shall allow our intuition to guide us"

I think maybe a better, more appropriate prompt would’ve been to ask: “do you trust your instincts and/or intuition?

So to answer the actual question, yes, I trust my instincts. I have no choice but to do so. Instincts are hardwired into me. However, learning to trust my intuition that is something I’m still working on.

As a teacher, I tell my students that whenever they’re taking a multiple-choice test, their first guess is usually their best guess. Once we re-read a question or the possible answers too many times, we begin to second-guess ourselves. We begin to second-guess, whether or not, we even know the meaning of each of the words making up the question. That is when mistakes are made.

We often refer to our intuition as our “gut feelings”. When dealing with intuition, I think of the clichés “where they smoke, there’s fire…“ And “if it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck…“. But for some reason, we will tend to second-guess the evidence that is directly in front of us. Maybe it’s because we want to give someone or something the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it’s because we’re blinded by our emotions on the matter. I absolutely fall victim to this mindset. Acting counterintuitively, having things backfire when we go against our gut is where learning takes place; and that is the beginning of wisdom.

If something seems too good to be true it probably is. If I hadn’t ignored some of the red flags in both of my long-term relationships, I would have spared myself some heartbreak. But I would’ve missed out on some learning opportunities, and I am a wiser person for the experiences.

Trusting my intuition is something I’m always working on.

Do you trust your instincts and/or intuition?

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The article “Even if it hangs over your waist” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.