How much stock do you put into "gut?"

[fidgiegirl]

I am wondering how much stock you put into gut feelings.

I don't want to reveal too much of the situation that is prompting this, not because it's a secret or bad or anything, just because it's really the gut feelings issue that I'm interested in discussing.

I have worked mindfully, in varying degrees, at listening to my gut for the last several years. It started with a soured friendship that I should have ended much sooner and knew as much, but refused to honor what I knew deep down. So my focus was on relationships - both romantic and friendship - for a long time, and not feeling like I owed every person I met a relationship, particularly if I just didn't click with or like the person.

For me personally, there is always room for improvement in this area. And here's where I wished I were a journaler, because I have only one specific recent incident in mind where I ignored my gut in situation X and situation X has now turned into a problem. But it seems like this has happened more than once.

How about you? Is "gut" something you even believe in, or are you an analysis person? Do you have to work hard at noticing and honoring your gut feelings, or are they quite obvious/clear to you?

I hope that we will hear from women and men. I think "women's intuition" is touted as something, well, that only women need to worry or think about, but I think all humans have these gut feelings and am curious about how individuals of any gender approach them.

[JaneV2.0]

This is practically a mantra for me: logic is useful for solving mathematical equations, instinct is where I go when I want the right answer to dilemmas in real life.

If the two conflict, go with your gut. That is what decades of experience have taught me. (And I am, by nature, logical and analytical.)

[iris lilies]

My gut doesn't speak very often, so when it says "no" I should listen. I don't, always, and I regret that.

[Dhiana]

I listen to my 'gut' always, every day. Most of the time it is because I need more information to come to a decision about something,
but sometimes it just screams, "RUN AWAY!!"

There's usually a good reason for that, too :)

Go with your gut, it really is a survival tool for a reason.

[happystuff]

Okay! I absolutely HATE my netbook right now because the entire post I had typed just got wiped out because this keyboard is so small and every key I hit seems to "change things". grrrrrrr....

Anyway... this is a timely post for me as I am currently reading and practising to "listen to my gut/basic instinct" more.

So, to answer your question, yes, I put a lot of stock into listening to one's gut! I think we, as a species, have lost a lot because of technological advances. Yes, we have gained, but I believe we have lost more. I believe we have lost the "survival" instincts that are still existent/inheirent in other species. I believe we still have a chance to re-awaken these lost instincts, but I wonder how many people are actually interested in doing so.

[Jilly]

Totally. Third chakra, Manipura, solar plexus, source of wisdom. The only times that I get in trouble are when I do not pay attention. Big stuff, small stuff, all the same. And, I think that it transcends gender. Pay attention, or pay.

[Simplemind]

100%

[Rosemary]

I am logical and analytical by nature as well, but I absolutely never ignore my gut feelings. And I have learned from experience that they usually point me in the right direction.

[Florence]

I am logical and analytical by nature as well, but I absolutely never ignore my gut feelings. And I have learned from experience that they usually point me in the right direction.

Exactly.

[iris lilies]

Also, sometimes for me the gut instinct isn't speaking quite yet but it is murmuring. So usually I just wait for a while and hope that it speaks clearly, or shuts up. I'm waiting and watching for a sign for making a decision right now about keeping our current rescue dog.

[Zoe Girl]

I have extremely high intuition, sometimes it irritates the heck out of me because i can't jsut tap in and say "what about this situation" but I pretty much get a good push moment by moment. As others I usually regret not listening, sigh. What I hate is when my gut is telling me something that may be awkward socially or that I cannot explain to others. I have bought all my cars primarily following my intuition, the couch I have 10 years later is a total intuitive purchase, but one of my faves was getting up one morning, deciding I needed to find some random pillows for the meditation class i wanted to teach, and then going down the main street that is well known for bad reasons to an ARC store to find 2 well used but totally legit meditation zafus for $5 each!

[SteveinMN]

Heh. I'm analytical about listening to my gut. :)

Seriously, I think many -- if not most -- people need to train themselves a little to identify when it's their gut talking to them rather than their eyes or hormones. For so many "gut" becomes a visceral reaction, and I don't believe that initial reaction is always the one to be trusted. Listening to my gut always takes some time.

That said, I'm very analytical. Before I went house-shopping ten years ago, I thought hard about where I'd lived before and what I liked and didn't like about various locations and buildings (granted, some of that was from experience in those places). That gave me a short list of things I had to have (or had to avoid) in a new place. When I saw this house, there was no visceral tug, no "oh, I love this!" Once I could check everything off my list, then I went with my gut. I have not regretted the decision. There still isn't a passion for the place, though I still find many aspects of this house quite attractive and, really, for a possession, maybe passion isn't really appropriate.

When I chose to date again, I spent a fair amount of time analyzing what I would bring to a relationship and what I wanted in a partner. It may sound a little calculating or impersonal to "reduce" that to lists, but I found that having those lists reminded me of The Main Things and kept me from being blinded by fantasy or minimizing real red flags (I'm guilty on that charge in my first marriage). Then I let intuition take over. I don't regret that decision, either. Ever (not something I could say three years into my first marriage).

So, in short, I think you need to make sure you're truly listening to your gut -- and it has a good enough track record to warrant the attention.

[creaker]

I listen to my gut. It's not always right :|(, but I never think it should be ignored.

[Lainey]

I went to a seminar once where the teacher said when she taught women's groups she called it "intuition" and when she taught mostly male business types she taught the same course calling it "gut instinct."
:)

that said, yes, I do have some flashes of intution and when I've ignored it I've been sorry. Also I think it's like a muscle that can be exercised, so for example, you can ponder about things quietly and let answers come to you vs. expecting a bolt of lightning type insight.

[citrine]

Yes, I listen to my gut all the time...when I don't, I feel sick to my stomach. I am more empathetic than logical and have learned over the years that vibes, energies, intuition, and feelings will always help me figure things out.

[Gardenarian]

I don't think I have a lot of gut instinct, or it's hard to hear, or I haven't developed the talent for listening. Or maybe I just always go with my gut and call it "the logical decision?" I don't know...

[ToomuchStuff]

I am a lot more analytical and logical then gut oriented. That said, I have also been in/at places that others, feared, simply because I had more knowledge then they did. I've also had my life and safety threatened more then I care to think about, been at gun and knife point. If my gut is speaking, there is a (censored) good reason to listen to it.

[Gregg]

I'm beyond Toomuchstuff, analytical to a fault. DW will ride her intuition all the way. She's right more often than me when it comes to people and social situations.

[JaneV2.0]

My gut has been right in a number of critical situations: jobs and real estate were the most costly ones, because I went with logic every time. That's when i finally learned an important life lesson. Took me long enough.

[lucas]

Robert Anton-Wison makes the analysis that most people, when facing difficutl decisions, don't really 'think' about them so much as try to think themself to the point where they're comfortable doing what their gut is telling them to do... our intuition sends us in a certain direction, and then we use thinking to try and explore all the possible costs-benefits or ramifications of that course of action... more often than not, we will end up doing what our gut told us to do in the first place... in this sense, he says people are 'thinker-provers' rather than simply 'thinkers' per se, as our thought processes are generally directed towards a pre-established goal... can't speak for anyone else, but this is certainly very true in my case!

[fidgiegirl]

So, interestingly, again I am getting the same feeling. Note that it is several months after this thread came up. So a follow-up question, and maybe I should start another thread . . . how do you know when it is gut and when it is fear? Or does it even matter?

[shadowmoss]

Sit with it awhile. If it spirals up into fear, then you can look at the source of the fear. If it just feels right after some time, then it might be your gut.

[Lainey]

I've sometimes had confusion between intuition/gut feeling and wishful thinking. That is, does my hope for a certain outcome cloud the picture by coloring my 'gut feeling' and pushing it into a scenario I'd like?

[catherine]

Kelli, I don't know if you meditate/pray, but really, getting to your center really helps. The more you can cut out "the world" and listen to your own internal voice (or God, or your HP, or whatever), the more confident you can be in the outcome. Once you have minimized distracting influences, you can simply ask yourself "what might I be afraid of in making this decision?" and meditate on that for a while. Obviously some fear is prudent, but a lot of times it's just "False Evidence Appearing Real" as they say in 12-step programs. I have always taught my kids to NOT base any decision on their fears. In other words, if the only reason they're not doing something is because they're afraid, just throw that reason out and look for another good reason.

[SteveinMN]

does my hope for a certain outcome cloud the picture by coloring my 'gut feeling' and pushing it into a scenario I'd like?
I've been thinking about this since I read it. My experience is that wishful thinking always comes with reservations. There's always a "but", always a rationalization: "But there's not a very good chance that (negative outcome) is going to happen." Gut feeling is mindful of things not working out as planned, but doesn't throw them up as roadblocks. They're there, the risk is assessed and addressed, and I feel much better about the outcome than if wishful thinking requires building this elaborate path of things that have to be done precisely to achieve the goal in mind.

I know I haven't explained this very well; it's hard to relay the feeling I get when it's gut feeling. I just feel more settled and more able to handle issues and obstacles as they appear, not think of complicated ways around the problems that wishful thinking kind of sweeps under the rug.

[EDIT]It also is possible to start down whatever path feels strongest (gut or wishful thinking) and see how the universe reacts to it. Gut will see easier resolutions of decisions and problems; people and circumstances will in the majority support your choice. Wishful thinking is the opposite -- straw-man arguments, a greater sense of "going it alone". Not to say there aren't setbacks with gut actions. It's just that those come with more support to defeat or work around them. Of course, you can always reverse path yourself when you realize you were working on wishful thinking.

[happystuff]

For me, the gut reaction simple "is". Whether there is also fear or wishful thinking or whatever, for me it doesn't change the fact that when I get a "gut feeling", I simply know that it is true... that it is.

[Rogar]

How about you? Is "gut" something you even believe in, or are you an analysis person? Do you have to work hard at noticing and honoring your gut feelings, or are they quite obvious/clear to you?

I hope that we will hear from women and men. I think "women's intuition" is touted as something, well, that only women need to worry or think about, but I think all humans have these gut feelings and am curious about how individuals of any gender approach them.

When it comes to most decisions, I am probably more analytic. I have had a handful or two of what might have been intuition or gut feeling that influenced my direction. The ones that come to mind seemed like more than just a "feeling", but a fairly strong message. They had favorable outcomes. My education and most of my career is in the sciences and I tend to base decisions more on some sort of formal or informal weighing of probable outcomes, but certainly don't deny the validity of intuition. Maybe I should listen to that inner voice a little more.

My impression on intuition is that we have this internal chatter from our analytic self that needs to be calmed in order to get reasonable impressions from our feeling side of things.