Intuition: That Gut Feeling

In 1996 a group of climbers was on their way to the peak of Mt. Everest. Unfortunately, all had to lose their lives on the way up; except for one- John Taske. A former Special Air Service Commando, John decided to end his quest when the peak was just about 200 meters away! Paying heed to his intuition, John survived one of the most dangerous calamities at Mt. Everest, while his companions succumbed to blizzards and landslides.

'Gut feeling', 'hunch' or 'intuition' is something we all have experienced, but seldom addressed. Uncloaking itself from the mists of magic and pseudo-science, 'intuition' has found its place on the shelf of science. Formally, intuition is the ability to understand things and analyze situations without the need for a logical reason. It is an instinctive knowledge or an urge that occurs without the participation of the conscious mind.

Well, that was too technical. Simply put, 'intuition' is nothing but your brain operating in 'auto-pilot' mode. That moment when you make a decision at lightning speed is basically your brain showing off all the knowledge it has gained from past experience and present surroundings or environment and processing it at high speed. But we usually neglect the 'gut feeling' and resort to logical reasoning.

In a game of lottery, which ticket wins is chance, which ticket you choose is your intuition. It is not necessary that your intuition will always choose the right path. History has seen great wizards of intuition such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Oprah Winfrey, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs, to name a few.

In the words of Steve Jobs;

“Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”

Considering the number of tests and quizzes they appear for, students have great experience of the 'gut feeling'. When it comes to choosing the right answer to a question you have no idea about, it is all about what they 'feel' is the right answer. It may or may not be correct.

Lost in a forest with multiple paths ahead, which one you choose to tread on is your hunch. Even while watching a game or a suspense movie, you 'feel' that a particular team will win or that a particular character will turn.All dressed up and ready to leave for a party, with everything else in favor, you 'feel' you shouldn't go. You reach a position in life and feel this is it! It's all intuition.

With science having proved it with studies and experiments, the 'gut feeling' is not something futile.

As Einstein says it, " the only real valuable thing is intuition."