“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
-Steve Jobs
Business decision-making
In a 2022 Harvard Business Review article, Melody Wilding explored “how to stop overthinking and start trusting your gut”, noting that “intuition… is frequently dismissed as mystical or unreliable”. She suggested that there is a scientific basis for using intuition and refers to “surveys of top executives [which] show that a majority of leaders leverage feelings and experience when handling crises.” However, an earlier Harvard Business Review article (“Don’t Trust Your Gut”) advises that, although “trust in intuition is understandable… anyone who thinks that intuition is a substitute for reason is indulging in a risky delusion.”
Non-thinking decisions
When we make decisions, we want to rely on non-thinking. The more we try to think, analyze, and ask for outside opinions, the more it causes unnecessary anxiety and frustration. Most of the time, we already know deep down what to do. This is often referred to as your intuition, gut feeling, or inner wisdom. Following your intuition means that you’re listing to your gut feeling, which can be a valuable tool in the decision-making process. It might feel like you are being pulled towards a decision or situation, even if you can’t explain why. Learning to listen to your gut feeling has a lot to do with trust, which can be hard when fear is involved. To follow your intuition means that you do not have to put conscious thought into making a decision.
Is intuition ever wrong?
Some people say intuition is the ability to understand something without any reasoning process, or as some kind of sixth sense. An insight, your inner voice, a feeling in the pit of your stomach, a hunch or innate knowing. Think of it as feeling that guides you. If you “know” something isn’t right, pull back from it. The more you listen to this feeling, the better you will get at picking it up the next time. Sometimes, the feeling is subtle and sometimes it’s loud.
But…intuition doesn’t work all the time. Intuition can be wrong and it’s important to remember that before following your intuition blindly. It takes experience and maturity to get to know yourself and trust your intuition.
“Intuition doesn’t tell you what you want to hear; it tells you what you need to hear.”
-Sonia Choquette
“Think for yourself. Trust your own intuition. Another’s mind isn’t walking your journey, you are.”
-Scottie Waves
“Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect.”
-Steve Jobs
“Never apologize for trusting your intuition – your brain can play tricks, your heart can be blind, but your gut is always right.”
-Anonymous
