We also have gut instinct and rational thinking. At the personal level, some prefer instinct while others like rational thinking. But why not use both?
By itself, instinct can be incredible. It's what sparks our imagination, enables our creativity, and takes us to new heights.
An example of being tricked by gut intuition is making a hiring decision based on instinct alone. The new person seems like the perfect fit - for a while. But before long he falls off the pedestal and his true colors show through.
Instinct is not error-proof, and that's why we benefit by using rational thinking. An example of this might be a businessman who is presented with the perfect business deal.
If he relied on gut instinct alone he would jump on it in a heartbeat.
But, after researching the deal more thoroughly, he discovers that if he engages the deal at the present time he would exhaust all of his current resources.
His instinct was right on the money. But rational thinking showed that the timing was not right, and he averted a catastrophic decision.
Don't get me wrong. We need to trust our instincts. They're powerful and can open many opportunities for us. But for optimal decisions we should weigh our instinct against our rational thinking.
Use tools, techniques, and advisors to help. But if advisors aren't available and you have a tough choice to make, consider the following two simple steps to help you make sure you're doing the right thing:
- Take some time and map out your reasons for action.
- Then map out the ripple effects of NOT taking action.
Bottom line:
trust your gut instinct; but also think things through.
With that combination you're probably making some pretty good decisions.
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