Trust Your Gut

My cat may be smarter than me. In referring to whether someone is a nice person it is often said that "animals and kids know." Animals rely on their instincts for survival while people tend to dismiss those impulses in favor of logical reasoning.

I recently read that our brains process so much information so quickly that our conscious minds can’t keep up. Our instinctive reactions are based on the accumulated knowledge – not vague or unrelated emotions. It turns out that when we trust our gut, we are really trusting our brain.

You may have seen Gavin De Becker, an FBI profiler, on Oprah over the years. He has built a career and written two books on the subject of trusting our instincts in order to protect ourselves. "The Gift of Fear" and "Protecting the Gift: Keeping our Children and Teenagers Safe" should be required reading for parents. The situations he illustrates are scary, but his advice is practical. While you may never get mugged, chances are your child may get lost in a store at some point.

While safety is most important, this information can be applied across the board in business, everyday decisions and relationships. Embrace your instincts.

I'd love to hear about your instinct experiences. Please share with a comment.