STRESS
Evaluating Your Thoughts
It is essential to assess your thoughts since intuition is a subconscious process. You can improve your confidence in your process of internal reasoning by understanding the way you think and handle the information. Your mind keeps assimilating the information it receives and makes use of inductive as well as deductive reasoning. The trick is to shift this process from the background of your consciousness to the forefront. Think of a routine task or chore that you do daily without having to think about it, like driving a car. You are capable of going through all the actions necessary for operating a vehicle without any conscious thought and, in the same manner, you can reverse engineer your process of thinking as well. You can describe any situation, condition, or the motivations of those around you, and your behaviour by making use of assumptions and calculations that take place unconsciously. It might seem slightly tricky in the beginning, but with some time, effort, and practice, you can successfully identify the way you think and keep track of your thinking process as well. You can evaluate your thoughts by following the three simple tips mentioned here.
Start by observing your thoughts. You should ask yourself questions that will make you think about your thoughts. “Why am I thinking the way I am?” “What kind of belief is being created because of this thought?” And “What is the factor that is making me feel that my assumption is true?” Answer these three questions, and once you have done that, try adopting a fresh perspective towards things. Try being open and eager while considering your choices, and don’t let any biases interfere with your thought process. The last step for evaluating your thoughts is by playing the Devil’s advocate. For every option that you have, think of reasonable and logical reasons as to why you should opt for another option. By merely listing down the pros and cons of every decision you have thought about is very helpful. Weigh the pros and cons, and see if your reasonable outlook towards a situation is the same as your gut feeling. Keep practising these exercises; you will know when you should and shouldn’t trust your gut instinct.
Distinguishing Fear from Intuition
Whenever you are trying to differentiate between intuition and fear, take into consideration the following things:
Fear is emotional, and it relates to worries about the past or the future. Fear is usually anxious and heavy. It takes into consideration all the emotional wounds you suffered in the past, and it is harsh and delusional to a precise extent. Intuition is usually neutral and doesn’t have any particular or even negative emotions attached to it. It is logical, and not emotional. Intuition relates to the present and doesn’t take into consideration any traumas of your past. It originates from the gathering, sorting, and the synthesis of all the evidence and isn’t based on your emotions. You can determine if a feeling that you are experiencing is a gut feeling or fear by making a list of all the things that scare you. When you do this, you will have a clear understanding of whether you are being logical or just feeling fear in your gut. If what you are feeling stems from fear, this always necessitates a second opinion. If not, then you can just go ahead.
Never Dismiss Your Inner Skeptic
Our instincts are the basic urges and the alarms that help in keeping us alive. Whenever you have to make a decision relating to your safety and overall well being, then you should certainly listen to and interpret these urges. In situations like the initial stages of dating someone, hiring a nanny, decisions relating to your health, or even when making an investment decision, you must learn to trust your instincts. Mostly in all those decisions where you need to trust someone else, always go with your instincts.
Have you ever been in a situation where you kept telling yourself, “If I had just gone with that option, I would have never been in this situation?” Well, if you have been in such situations before, then you should start listening to your gut. More often than not, there are plenty of warning signs and red flags that make you feel a little off about a situation, and the truth is that we choose to ignore them all. Ignoring your internal alarm bells can prove to be a costly mistake. Did you ever think about how your fight or flight instinct works? It is a primal instinct that we are all born with, and it is the result of hundreds of years of mental calculations done that help in registering a physical response quickly. The sudden sense of fear or uneasiness stems from this instinct.
Whenever there is no logical reasoning for the doubt that you are experiencing, then you should start trusting your gut. The fear here refers to the type of fear that makes your heart pound and causes uneasiness in the pit of your stomach. Your brain has done its calculations, and it has concluded that something is wrong with the situation that you are in. Your gut feeling will help you in making the right decision in such circumstances. So, when it comes to trusting your gut, it boils down to a couple of simple things. You should learn to understand the manner in which you think and be confident about your decision-making process, differentiating between intuition and fear, and t. The last step is to trust your primal instinct, and take into consideration all the red flags you notice. So, what exactly does your gut tell you now?
The Gratitude List
The Quantum Evolve is an Expert Recruitment Consultancy and advocates of mental health & wellbeing. Providing high calibre, enthusiastic and conscientious individuals to the Construction Industry whilst also providing resources to empower and support their Mental Health.
