Intuition, a gut feeling, the overwhelming sensation that something is either right or wrong; can and should we rely on it?
There are many people who live their lives based on instinct in the belief that their inner self is always right.
Indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary definition of intuition states it is “the ability to know or understand something immediately, without conscious reasoning.”
In a positive sense, it can be an extremely helpful trait in that it enables a person to make decisions instinctively and quickly, often with the desired outcome.
It also acts like an in-built early warning or alarm system, which is designed to protect us from negative or painful consequences.
The question is, how accurate is it, and should it be relied on so heavily?
From a personal perspective, and as a spiritual person with powerful emotions and a strong self-belief, it is something I have put my faith in throughout my life.
There have been a very small number of occasions where I have been wrong, but in the majority of cases, my deep instinctive feelings about certain people and situations have turned out to be eerily accurate.
For that reason, I now never ignore my intuition.
In stark contrast, however, there is another characteristic which I have been fighting to eliminate; a tendency to overthink.
As readers will know from some of my earlier posts, I have fought a lengthy battle against periodic depression.
On some occasions, it has arrived without warning and with no identifiable trigger, whilst on other occasions it has come as a direct result of painful events in my life.
One contributory factor to the illness has been a tendency to think too much and be overly analytical.
I am, by nature, a deep and inquisitive person, and the ability to work things through in my mind has helped me greatly in both my private and professional life.
However, the negative side is overthinking, which can lead to the creation of inaccurate realities and unjustified concerns. In other words, you find yourself worrying about things that turn out not to be true or don’t exist, or at least not in the way your mind is telling you, and that can then lead to wrong conclusions and negative consequences.
In the latter context, I am aware that a large part of my overthinking in the past was prompted by earlier negative and painful experiences, such as when I had been deceived or lied to by people in whom I had put my trust.
These type of experiences can make you suspicious and, on occasions, look upon certain individuals unfairly with the belief or fear that those people, who are in reality good, decent, honest and trustworthy people, will let you down in the same hurtful way as those who were deceitful.
With greater self-awareness and evaluation, it has proved to be an important lesson over the years.
It is essential that we allow all our past experiences, whether positive or negative, to help us develop and grow in a healthy and productive way, and not destroy our present.
At the same time, we mustn’t judge other people by the previous hurtful actions of others, and we should never lose the ability to put our faith in people who are important to us.
For that reason, I continue to put my trust in those close to me, and, nowadays, and based on experience, I have a tendency not to overthink as much.
Sometimes in life, you just have to accept things as they are and resign yourself to the fact that you will never get answers to certain questions (something hard for any journalist or investigator to comprehend).
Besides, overthinking has always been a cause of conflict for me in yet another way because I am someone whose heart has traditionally ruled my head.
As with intuition, I always listen to what my heart is telling me as I believe that by doing so you are always true to both yourself and others.
However, whilst I rely heavily on intuition, I now try not to allow my heart to completely dominate my decision-making process because I have learnt that most things need at least some mental consideration.
I now use logical thinking more than I did before, along with knowledge and experience, to make decisions in a more rational and less impulsive way.
For that reason, I am less hasty in jumping to conclusions nowadays too.
However, whilst taking all this into consideration, and now a much more balanced and measured person as a result, one thing that will never change is the role that intuition plays in my life.
In my personal experience, if something doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t, and this “sixth sense” and the resulting actions I have taken have helped me greatly in both my personal and professional life.
In terms of my work as a journalist (both in crime journalism and more general) and investigator, it has helped me be in the right place at the right time and led to numerous “scoops” or “exclusives” (stories that I have obtained before rival journalists and media outlets).
In addition, it has given me advance warning and helped me get out of dangerous situations in one piece and without harm; and it has helped me detect when people have been deceitful or withholding important information, enabling me to continue with a different and more intensive line of investigation to gain the evidence I need to expose injustices, criminals, corrupt individuals, etc.
It is in my private life, however, where intuition has reaped its major benefits.
Positively, it has led to some truly amazing experiences and presented me with great opportunities because I have trusted my instincts and taken risks which more cautious people wouldn’t have.
Intuition has also helped me deal with the more negative and darker elements of life too.
Before I continue, I must point out that I have never deployed the investigative methods I have learnt and used professionally in relation to people who are/were close to me in my personal life.
Sure, I’ve adopted such practices in certain other areas; for example, when suspicious that a business or individual was trying to defraud me, a member of my family or friends; or when someone I know has been subjected to criminal activity.
However, I have always placed my trust in people close to my heart and have never considered using such methods to investigate them or their backgrounds.
Of course, in addition to my family and closest friends, the vast majority of people with whom I have formed close relationships and / or friendships during my life, have proved to be loyal, honest and genuine people, so I have had no cause to feel uneasy.
That said, intuition has also previously given me the ability to detect when a handful of people in whom I had put my trust were being deceitful or lying.
Unobtrusive and calm observation and assessment of a person’s behaviour, body language and words when they’re with you or speaking to you, and any changes; the overwhelming feeling that someone isn’t telling the truth; as well as the casual or accidental discovery of evidence, have been enough to prove my suspicions and confirm that my instincts were right, and that has then enabled me to take the appropriate action to deal with the situation.
There have been a few notable occasions in the past when I have ignored my intuition and associated “red flags” in relation to certain people, and I have suffered as a result.
On those occasions, it was more a case of not wanting to believe what I already genuinely knew inside.
They were classic examples of self-denial, but my intuition was right all along, which is another reason why I continue to put so much faith in my instincts.
Furthermore, and to the best of my knowledge, intuition has never had a negative impact on my health.
In stark contrast to overthinking, which has contributed to the periodic depression and bouts of anxiety from which I have suffered, intuition, as I have previously stated, has actually led to some incredibly positive experiences in my life, as well as saved me from certain dangerous situations and painful experiences.
Therefore, whilst there is always a margin for error when you follow your instincts, in my own case, it has been an extremely small one, and the benefits of my acute intuition have so far greatly outweighed the handful of negatives.
Self-belief is one of the most important traits a person can have, and with it comes the ability to trust your intuition.
I’m not saying that it’s 100% infallible, but it’s one of the most powerful and beneficial tools at our disposal and should never be ignored.
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