Gut Instinct ≠ Intuition

'Tis a common occurrence these days that companies and individuals are wanting to rely less and less on 'gut feel' and more on data.

For the most part, this is a good move.

A problem enters the fray when people throw Intuition into the same 'to-be-disregarded' bin which gut feel currently occupies.

Gut Instinct is not the same thing as Intuition.

Everyone has access to Gut Instinct. It's the human biology's basic survival mechanism.

Not everyone has developed access to their Intuition.

One more time, because we really jumped to 11 on that one:

Not everyone has developed access to their Intuition.

In order to tackle this subtle-but-vast difference between Gut Instinct and Intuition, we will 'triangulate', using (the concept of) Data as the mid-point which will help give us some perspective.

(If you're just interested in The List, scroll to the bottom and find that heading 😊)

Gut Instinct

Gut instinct is a reflex. Let's take a quick look at some of the qualities surrounding a reflex.

First, upon what are our reflexes founded?

• Life experience
• Privilege
• Un/conscious bias
• Fear (survival)

Second, when would a reflex be 'triggered'? In other words: In what scenarios are our reflexes often called upon for duty?

Usually a reflexive action is required when one of the following priorities needs to be met:

1. Survival

2. Survival

3. Have sex so we can continue our DNA. Aka: Long-term Survival.

Say what you will about the Gut, it knows what it wants.

Now, what does all of this mean? What's our takeaway from this knowledge of the Gut?

The Gut is subjective. Deeply subjective. Look at the list again describing the foundation of reflexes. See how personal each quality is? How customized and unique those variables will be for each of the 8,000,000,000 people alive on our planet today?

What else?

For the most part, the Gut is driven by fear. The survival instinct is a game of risk-avoidance (aka: fear), and as we see above, the Gut is a definite 'subject-matter expert' on survival.

Knowing this, is it now logical and clear to see why, in business, Data is viewed as a better source of inform-ation?

If decisions are being made from a mechanism (the Gut) which is run by fear, then the business's actions will all be 'built' by fear. This will eventually create a business that is literally made of fear.

Not a business which many aspire to build, is it?

Gut Instinct is helpful in some key (usually escalated) situations. For the most part, however, our lives are not made up of life-and-death situations. (One benefit of society. *tips cap, credit given*)

This is why Data can be viewed as a 'superior' methodology to Gut Instinct in many contexts and scenarios of daily life.

Data

Data is dead information. This is not an insult or a slight. But it is a truth. A truth which many Data-devotees may benefit from acknowledging, but that is a topic for another article.

Data is a record of what-has-come-before. (This is why it is 'dead'.)

It is objective in nature - it just tells the story of what happened - and it can be immensely helpful in some contexts at gaining an understanding at what may come in the future... if all variables remain the same as the variables that existed when the old Data was being created. (Spoilers: They never do. The one constant in Life is change.)

Data, by itself, is meaningless.

That bears repeating as it's something our world can benefit from hearing twice:

Data, by itself, is meaningless.

What makes data meaning-full is what we choose to do with it.

An Analogy

Remember back when we talked about how Data is dead information?

Data is like food, in this way.

The food we eat -- whether it's chicken, salad, chicken salad, or otherwise -- is dead, or at the very least dying.

What makes a food 'nutritious' is how much Life Force/energy it still has left in it, at the time of consumption. (Note: The author is a 12-year Certified Nutritionist, not just blowing smoke here.)

What determines how much Life Force is still in the food you eat, when you eat it?

How fresh it is! The closer your food is to when-it-was-alive, the more nutritious/beneficial/nourishing it will be for you and your body.

Make sense?

Ok, next question:

Why do we eat?

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{giving you space to think about it for a moment}

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One reason we eat is to 'power' ourselves, so we can do everything else we want to do.

Mechanically speaking, this is a primary reason why we eat, is it not?

When we eat food, we receive energy.

What makes that energy meaning-full?

What we choose to do with it.

Once we have consumed that energy (as food), the-thing-we-choose-to-do-with-that-energy is what makes it meaning-full.

Do we write a book or an article? Do we tidy the house for ourselves and our loved ones? Do we go to the grocery store? Do we tackle a challenging problem at work? Do we create a piece of art for our loved one? Do we go to the gym or out for a walk in nature to rejuvenate our body? Do we sing a song?

The list could go on. Do we see how each one of these things-we-choose-to-do-with-our-food-energy... this is what gives that food meaning? Do we see how this gives our food purpose?

(Now back to our regularly-scheduled programming...)

And do we see how this same phenomenon is the true purpose of Data, as well?

What gives Data meaning is what we choose to do with it.

Data, by itself, is meaning-less.

Data, with purpose, is meaning-full.

Let's say we have decided our purpose - we have decided what we want the Data to tell us.

How do we best interpret our Data? What's the best way to do that?

This brings us to the third factor in our equation:

Intuition

Intuition is apparently 'subjective' (it takes place within an individual), however it is also definitively 'objective' (it is sourced, in-part, from 'something else').

Intuition is a power which all individuals possess - because all individuals possess are made up of Consciousness. (Hint: If you are reading this, you are Consciousness.)

Intuition is made up of two (2) things happening simultaneously:

1. An individual's attentiveness to & attunement with their 'Higher Self', and
2. the conscious clarity of that Higher Self's connection to Creation.

As an individual's Inner Path / Spiritual Path progresses, they 'lose' parts of themselves their 'false self'.

The Inner Path is less one of gaining, and more one of losing.

We all already Are 'That'. Life - and the games we play along the way - are our process of remembering that Truth.

As the Inner Path is walked, and more false self is lost, a new clarity arises becomes clear and apparent (it was there all along, just hidden).

It is calm and peaceful. It does not need to prove points or win arguments. It listens more than it speaks. It gives freely, for its source of energy is internal and infinite. It discerns with wisdom - rather than prejudice. It perceives an entire world of subtlety happening 'on top of' our regular world.

That world is connected. Unified. One living, breathing Life. The individual real-izes the total number of living organisms in the Universe is: One.

From this place, conscious attunement with this world... This is where Intuition 'comes from'.

Just a little different from Gut Instinct, yah?

Intuition is this individual's conscious connection both to its own Higher Self (living on this plane) and that Higher Self's connection to the 'big picture' of Creation.

Making decisions from Intuition does not feel like 'right' and 'wrong' or 'good' and 'evil'.

Making decisions from Intuition feels like 'clear path ahead' versus 'friction, resistance, forcing it'.

Making decisions from Intuition is not 'knowing the future'. The future is not real, therefore it cannot be known. The future is not real, because it is not set. It is changed in every moment by every choice that every living being makes.

Making decisions from Intuition is not 'knowing the future'... but it can look like that sometimes, because of how laughably perfect things tend to turn out.

(This doesn't mean it always turns out perfectly. Lots can be gained from challenges and obstacles, and sometimes these are the way forward. What this is saying is: When it does turn out well, it turns out so well, you could not have even wished for it to go this well. You would have felt silly wishing for such an embarrassment of riches. As though you were asking 'too much'.)

This phenomenon has nothing to do with the individual 'being right'.

It has everything to do with a Universal Principle: Life is inherently 'Good'.

In more religious circles, this is what is ultimately meant by the idea: 'God is Love.'

It doesn't mean bad things never happen. It means that all is, ultimately, unfolding for the greater Good.

Sometimes the path to get there is rocky.

Maybe this is because we often only learn from rocky experiences.

Is that God's/Life's fault?

Or ours?

Once Intuition is developed, the individual is a 'clear vessel' which can relay information from Creation with minimal friction/loss. Over time and with practice, the Intuitive individual's inner voice can be trusted as an insightful path forward.

So, "How do we best interpret our Data?"

Intuition is often mistaken by Data-devotees as Gut Instinct.

The reason for this is simple: Data-devotees, themselves, do not yet have access to Intuition.

So, as far as they are concerned, whenever a Data-devotee hears someone make a suggestion as coming from Intuition, they lump that suggestion (and, typically, the individual who made it) into the same 'to-be-disregarded' bin as Gut Instinct.

And here's the important kicker: They are not wrong to do so!

As far as the Data-devotee is concerned, Intuition does not exist, because it does not exist for them. Not yet. It will, one day.

The purpose of this article is to, hopefully, provide any of us who have grappled with the subtle-but-vast difference between Gut Instinct and Intuition with some high-altitude context. Context which may help us see a broader view of our path ahead, if we are inclined to walk things like paths.

Now, without further ado, the question we're all here for:

What are the differences between Gut Instinct & Intuition (& Data)?

The List

Gut Instinct is loud.

Intuition is quiet.

(Data speaks plainly.)

~ ~ ~

Gut Instinct is subjective.

Intuition is both Subjective & Objective. (Capitalization used to differentiate between the 'version' of each reality which is being experienced.)

(Data is objective.)

~ ~ ~

Gut Instinct is sourced in our biology.

Intuition is sourced in our Higher Self / Soul / Spark of the Infinite and its connection to Creation.

(Data is sourced in past occurrence.)

~ ~ ~

Gut Instinct is informed by survival and fear.

Intuition is informed by curiosity and zest for Life.

(Data is informed by what happened.)

~ ~ ~

Gut Instinct demands you listen to it. It rages and snaps. It defends and attacks. It justifies.

Intuition suggests... it whispers and nudges. It raises an eyebrow and asks: "What if..." while pointing off in a general direction.

(Data presents.)

~ ~ ~

Gut Instinct commandeers your senses. Clouds your vision. Fills your ears. Overwhelms your touch.

Intuition lives at the corners of your perception. Subtle hints... a flash of something... a gentle feeling somewhere within.

(Data states what it knows.)

~ ~ ~

Gut Instinct is hard to ignore. Naggy and convicted. It needs you to listen to it and do what it says. And it is 100% certain it is 'right'.

Intuition can be hard to perceive. Subtle and unassuming. It is 'fine' whether you listen to it or not and it's totally up to you what you do with its suggestions. Whether or not it's 'right' is not something Intuition ever bothers to vocalize.

(Data makes itself available, upon request. Raw and unfiltered. You must manipulate it to your (subjective) specifications in order for it to 'tell you what to do'.)

~ ~ ~

Gut Instinct can be mis-guided by bias and unconscious bias. It will swear until blue-in-the-face that it is not being influenced by these forces. These individuals are closed off to in-depth conversation regarding the potential use of their ideas; preferring (strongly) that everyone just agree with them and move forward with their idea.

Intuition can only develop in individuals who have overcome/assimilated their biases (completely) and unconscious biases (to a large degree, if not completely). These individuals will often 'check themselves' to be sure their ideas are not being informed/tainted by any sneaky unconscious bias. They are open to a thorough conversation regarding the potential use of their ideas; preferring that the best overall solution be the one that is chosen to move forward.

(Data can only speak the objective information it knows.)

~ ~ ~

Gut Instinct is wired into us from birth as a reflex. Anyone can use it. It is used unconsciously.

Intuition is also wired into us from birth... as a muscle of sorts. Anyone can use it. However, like all muscles, it must be trained, in order to gain access to (and maximum benefit from) its use. Intuition is used consciously.

(Data is external. Anyone can access it, but must first learn the tools and processes to do so. It is used consciously.)

~ ~ ~

An over-reliance on Data is one reason why some people have a hard time grasping what Intuition is.

For the most part, our world views people as falling into one category or another:

You are either a person who listens to their Gut Instinct (an internal, subjective source of reasoning)

or

You are a person who listens to Data (an external, objective source of reasoning).

Our world is just beginning to awaken to the folly of binary thinking (on/off, good/evil, conservative/liberal, all/nothing, etc.).

Our world is just beginning to awaken to the idea that some things can be multiple things at once and still be correct.

Intuition takes Data into account... and then moves beyond it. Far beyond it. Intuition applies everything it learned from Data, and then builds on that.

Data is a terrific launch platform. Intuition is the rocket.

How do we develop our Intuition?

Is this an article you all would be interested in seeing?

Let me know in the comments, along with anything else you are inspired to share. 💙

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If this piece resonated with you, here are a few others you may also enjoy:

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