Are Gut Feelings Short Cuts to Better Decision-Making?

Are gut feelings shortcuts to better decision-making?

More and more evidence is being discovered that many of our most important decisions, such as which partner to marry, how to invest money, and so on, are not made by rational consciousness, but by the subconscious, also referred to as gut feeling. Can you trust your gut feeling?

Overview

There is more reason in your body than in your best wisdom.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus spoke Zarathustra

Gut feeling

We possess the capacity to feel, and thereby the ability to know things without consciously reasoning. The gut feeling is real, and we use it all the time. A gut feeling arises when your brain makes an instant connection between what’s happening in the present and a similar circumstance from your past.

There is no such thing as a purely logical decision. The brain uses a combination of logic and emotion when making decisions of any kind. That specific emotion, innate to us as humans, is called intuition. Intuition is about how quickly you can tap into your subconscious mind, where you archive all types of information that you don’t remember on a conscious level. This intuitive system is more hardwired into the human species than commonly understood. It is the automatic, mindless thought process that doesn’t require analysis or deep thinking.

Is it magic?

This kind of intuition isn’t magic; it’s unconscious reasoning. Our brains record all experiences; every meeting, client interaction, presentation, and personal decision. With every experience, the cache of information our brains have at their disposal grows. In general, any experience is a good experience, and the more we have of them, the more accurate our gut feelings become.

What your hunches tell you is often a better gauge of what will make you happy than an analytical spreadsheet could ever be.

On the other hand, always trusting your gut can get you into a lot of trouble. Sometimes it’s capable of screwing you over by causing you to believe you’re right when pretty much everyone else can see that you’re wrong.

Use your gut feeling as an indicator

Your gut feeling is way more than just a feeling. But it is clever to listen to it?

Gut or logical brain? It depends on the topic and the possible consequences. There is no such thing as a purely rational decision. The brain uses a combination of logic and emotion when making decisions of any kind. Use the news. I suggest that we listen to our gut feeling and use it as an indicator, but not a sole decision-maker.

Explore more than one perspective

Sound business decisions are based on facts, data analysis, trend spotting, or other complex calculations, and yes – a bit of intuition. But your instinct should be used as an indicator, not the basis for your decisions. In every business, there are variables and unique scenarios that make planning and analysis imperative; neglecting these factors could have serious implications.

Coaching for decisions

Decisions have to be made over and over again - small and large. Some are easy, some are difficult. We make many of these decisions without having to think much about them or even completely unconsciously, automatically. But now and then we come to the point where we encounter a decision where we pause, don't know what to do, don't see clearly. Often these are decisions of great importance that also have the ability to question important aspects of life that were previously considered given or untouchable. Such a situation can create pressure and even lead to paralysis, so that creative and constructive ways remain unconsidered.

Who sees clearly, can decide better and act purposefully. In order for this to succeed, it is necessary to ensure that the options are identified and, if necessary, increased and priorities clarified. Decision coaching helps to oversee the forest for the trees and to find the right focus. The best decision and creativity techniques can be used most effectively in a good mental state.

In order to make your decision easier, to be supported by me, I focus on transparency. On these pages you will find information about me (Karsten Noack) and the fees.

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P.S.

Do you trust your gut feelings?

Articles

This article is a short excerpt from the more comprehensive course materials my clients receive in a group or individual training or coaching.

Published: March 8, 2005
Author: Karsten Noack
Revision: November 19th, 2024
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