Intuition

Without a past – there’s no future

it’s the dream of our future, that gives meaning to our past.

And our experiences of the past that fuels our imagination – our future.

Experience comes from everything we do on a day to day basis. At home, work, alone and together. They help us create our intuitive sense of what’s happening around us.

But intuition is more than remembering how to do things, past successes and avoiding repeating the same mistakes. Which is basically having a good memory.

Memories must be cherished. But they’re not propelling us forwards in the same way as dreams and creative thoughts. They may even hold us back at times. Keeping us living in the better days of our past. That we often glorify, when things in current times are challenging. Or believing past mistakes equates to what we’re capable of today.

Intuition is not a talent bestowed on a few lucky people by nature. Neither is it some unattainable magic force or something that only a few have the ‘skill’ to form. We create it by opening up our senses to everything around us.

Building up our intuition, our belief in ourselves, and the decisions we make. That may not be entirely founded in facts. Will unlock creativity and move ideas forward, that was previously stifled or halted. Because we are afraid of getting it wrong.

Intuition is past and present forming your future. In your mind – right now. It’s our brains peripheral vision

And as a business. The closer your organisation comes to function as an organism. The more intuitive it becomes.

How to build your intuition

Everything you do – absolutely everything. Is part of creating, building, shaping and updating your intuition.

The updating part is key. We need to keep it fresh and active. Like any other part of our body and mind. It needs exercise to stay fresh and healthy.

Not to worry. It’s literally childs play. You’ve been doing it ever since you could crawl :

People watching is your base level. Obviously not by intrusively prying in their personal lives, or crudely starring at them. Just paying attention to people around you, their mannerisms, how they go about things.

Same as when we have conversations. We learn quite a lot about ourselves from what we recognise in others. And even more from what they do that’s different and new. As mundane as it may appear. It’s noticing the details, all the subtle differences and nuances that makes us observant.

Watching people with an active interest in what they do and how, will already teach you plenty. Just pause for a minute and watch how a plumber repairs a water faucet, or the sanitation truck. The basic functions of our society is a great place to begin.

Learn about anything and everything, try as many things, ideas and experiences as possible. Speak with people doing all manner of jobs, activities and hobbies. Watch lots of documentaries – not least about nature, medicine and the human body. Read fiction, fantasy and non-fiction.

We live in a world that’s wonderfully diverse and teeming with activity. There are more answers than any of us will get to in several life times.

Find out how things around you are made, how it works, the materials going into them. The types of jobs it takes to make them, service and maintain them. What’s the history behind them – how did they evolved over time. New innovations in the area.

By starting your journey with known objects and services you use regularly. You have a better chance of understanding them, you can actively feel and engage with them. You’ll be surprised how much goes into, and therefor how much you’ll learn. From everyday objects we all take for granted.

This may appear like a lot. Maybe you don’t feel particularly curious to begin with. But once you get under the skin of for instance, how the glas you’re drinking water from is made. How old glass making is. That glass is not technically solid… you may be well on your journey of discovery.

And the subtle differences in how the same product is made and used by different people. Will give you valuable insights to their culture. Their habits and customs. And you own.

Taking things apart. Doesn’t necessarily mean physically disassembling them, unless you plan to put it back together or have a worn out example. Find a video of how it’s made, find the drawings, read the product manual. If you want to go a step deeper, look for patents and the innovations making the product possible.

Look at the history, previous versions, similar products. The journey of products is a great way to see how things have evolved, and sometimes abate. You’ll learn good lessons from the intuition that others have applied.

Everything man made, is constructed from some core elements, and mostly made to be used by humans. So, when you encounter something new. It’s very likely made up, more or less, by these same components you already know. They may look and feel a little different. But you’ll recognise them.

Have a look at a pair of sneakers. You’ll find at least 10 different materials, several different manufacturing and assembly methods. Decades of studies in human anatomy and motion, surface traction and comfort. And imagination going into the design and style.

Intuition comes from the combinations, cross sections, intersections, blending, disassembling and recombining of it all. In new and unlikely ways. They become new thoughts and ideas, a deeper sense and instinct for everything that follows.

When we’re children. We’re complimented and encouraged for our creative drawings, stories about fantastic made up places we wanted to visit. And generally unrealistic and improbable ideas. And then we’re educated out of being creative – taught not to waste our time goofing about.

But remember. Our future lies in all the things we don’t know we don’t know. Your intuition is your first step, a peek into this future.

So when you begin moving from 1 + 2 = 3. And derive C from looking at A and B. To 3 + how peripheral vision draws our attention + ants leave scent trails for each other to follow = makes no sense right now. . . then you’re getting somewhere interesting :).

The more you play around with everything, make up unlikely scenarios, fantasise, build weird things. The more you’re opening up your brain to experiment on its own – aka building your intuition.

Everything you come across. You can re-configure or re-design in your mind, on a piece of paper or even build it. Doing it together with others is even better.

And getting it wrong – often, is important. It’s as much all the ‘things we are not doing’ ideas and possibilities that shapes us. They frame our understanding of a topic and move us towards solutions. And offer opportunities to revisit our own perceptions. To change our minds with new learning.

Intuition in itself is of course thoughts. It doesn’t materialise itself unless we shape it into actions, words or physical things.

So why focus on physical products. How’s that helping me if I’m a sales person, in customer service or writing code?

Physical products – things. Are usually easier to understand than thoughts. We can see and feel them. And thereby easier separate and consider the thoughts going into each of the parts. Think of them as your mental gym for more complex ideas and concepts.

Thoughts – mental images, are likewise much easier to comprehend and look at. When we consider the parts they’re made up of. Their origins and how they relate to each other.

Thoughts

. . . Ideas, theories, concepts, perceptions. . .

All thoughts consist of multiple underlying ideas, pieces of knowledge and memories. There’s the reason – and then there’s the real reason behind it. There’s complex patterns behind every intuitive thought and how you feel about it.

Same as you should always strive, to understand what lies behind what others are saying and doing. We can look for the underlying elements that form and informs the thought we are trying to understand.

It’s these underlying ideas, dreams, memories and cultural elements. That will help us form a more holistic image. It will paint an increasingly clear image in our minds. Making all the connections to our brains existing collection on the subject – and everything associated with it.

Focusing on our surroundings and listening to others. Does not mean we’re replacing our own thoughts or convictions. It means we are able to set our view of the world in perspective. We’re seeing ourselves reflected in them, they become our mirrors.

Understanding physical things and diving into ideas, concepts and cultures. Are exciting training grounds for our intuition. It stimulates hundreds of intuitive thoughts every day. Helps us see and recognise more patterns, predict behaviour in others. Know how we’re going to react to a situation before it has fully played out.

One idea at the time, step by step. It’s amazing where it can take us.

Group intuition

As a group. Wether it’s as a family, group of friends or a team. Each individual participant will have various degrees of intuitive ideas and feelings about a subject.

If decisions are made by one individual, the group’s direction is driven by intuition. But the execution of tasks, how we go about doing things, the efforts we put into it. Will be highly influenced by the individual members of the group – as it should be.

It’s far more constructive, to make any and all group decisions by consensus. With all the usual caveats surrounding decision making. That ultimately a leader may have to make a final decision, in order to move forward.

Consensus invites the intuition of all participants. It is more likely to generate a natural agreement. And should a final leadership decision be needed. It will be far more well informed.

Learn to trust and rely on your intuition

. . . your gut feeling – credible hunches – shower moments . . .

Trust is a choice. And that is more true for yourself, than when it comes to trusting others. You have a first row seat to all the reasons for not trusting yourself. All the memories of failing and getting it wrong.

People close to us, and funny enough a lot of those who knows nothing about us. Who have told us we are wrong, can’t do it, don’t know enough. Our ideas are stupid, make wrong choices, propose bad solutions, etc. They nag our self confidence.

It is remarkable how a split-second thought. Can creep in and make you doubt weeks and months of careful thinking and practice. Ask a professional athlete in a clutch moment.

The three pointer to win the match – with the clock on the last 2 tenths of a second. Braving the last corner on worn tires. The 2 degree extra twist in the wrist, from the top of the swing till the golf club hits the ball – that keeps you out of the rough.

In everyday life, at work and in our personal lives. We have thousands of these moments. Albeit less hectic – they’re still important.

There’s no magic recipe or cool 5-step plan you can follow to solidify your trust in yourself. It will happen over time, as you actively learn from and engage with the world.

We should follow the same method as for all learning; take a moment to consider what you seek or expect to learn from it beforehand. Write it down, so not to allow time or sentiment, to distort the actual into perceived outcomes.

And use this method to train yourself in objective self observation and evaluation. So when you have unplanned experiences – constituting most of what we do. You have a good measure, of how well developed your intuition in a given area or topic is.

When our intuition is right, it can in some ways feel a bit like deja vu. When something feels unknown – yet comfortable. You may be uncertain whether to trust it, since you can’t recall the thought process that brought it about.

Of course, always carefully consider acting on intuitive thoughts – same as with all information. But generally trust your minds un-match ability. To identify new connections between hidden elements. It has derived must be part of something you taught it in the past, that you most likely forgot about.

And some times the warm comfortable feeling, comes from avoiding a bad situation.

Like a good friend steadying you.

What to do when your intuition “fails” you ?

Most important – and often most difficult. Is remembering and believing, that it did not ‘fail’ you. 

Intuition is part of our instinct for what can ‘happen to us’. It’s part of our early warning system, telling us when something is off – something is about to happen.

Still. In our busy and very noisy everyday lives. We often don’t see the warning signs. Same as we’re not good enough at taking care of ourselves physically and mentally. We are not that good at listening, to what is happening within and around us.

And luckily for most of us. Not everything happening is threatening bodily harm. It’s far more common and daily instances that can sidetrack us.

The risk of intuition

There is, as with everything. A risk of relying too much on one facet of decision making.

Intuition is a collection of past preferred memories. Meaning we have a tendency to remember and favour solutions, and ideas where people agreed with us. We were complimented and rewarded. Serving our most basic needs for belonging, love and recognition.

This does in no way invalidate or diminished the value. Of neither past experiences, or your intuition and gut feeling !

But a healthy, sober and ever reflective relationship with our gut. Will reward us with the ability to trust it over time, and through periods of doubt and shock, which will naturally happen.

Also be mindful. With increased experience and routine in any area. You naturally develop a strong intuition. You may come to consider it as complete. Only risking it goes stale.

It needs new inputs to evolve, like any muscle it needs exercise to remain subtle and strong. Stay curious, open to new ideas and everything new the world around you have to offer.

Without a future – there’s no past

As we haven’t yet found a way to predict the future. With any more certainty than the belief, that things repeat themselves. And people behave in generally predictable ways.

Which are in general reasonable and safe assumptions.

We are better of, actively working on creating our future – together.

This is where a well developed, broad and deep, intuition, is your best tool and advantage. The more patterns you see, the more your brain naturally fit new pieces into the larger expanding image. The more forward pathways you will see and imagine. 

Your intuition is both steadying you, in the decisions you’re making for today, and showing you a path forward.

It’s the dream of our future, that gives meaning to our past. All the work, everything we had to go through, experiences we’ve had. All the people we’ve been lucky to meet and engage with.

Our future lies in all the things we don’t know we don’t know. Your intuition is your first step, a peek into this future.

Of course it’s happening inside your head, Harry. Why should that mean it isn’t real?

Professor Dumbledore