trust-your-instincts

Trust Your Instinct, Your Internal Voice

trust-your-instincts

You know that ‘voice’ in the back of your head? ( hopefully it’s just one voice ;) ) You should probably listen to it. In other words, trust your instinct – your gut – your sense – your intuition.

We humans have a knack of consciously (and subconsciously) recognizing a gut instinct when it happens. Sometimes it’s fairly obvious, while other times it’s a nagging sensation.

Sure, some decisions are better made with a long and detailed analysis and thought process. However there are many decisions that are just as effective (or more-so) with quick thinking and reaction.

I’ve read that you’re more likely to perform well if you don’t think too hard — and instead trust your instincts. Research shows that in some cases, instinctive snap decisions are more reliable than decisions taken using higher-level cognitive processes.

One study (from the Journal of Consumer Research) concluded that people who deliberate about decisions make less accurate judgments than people who trust their instincts. In five separate studies, the researchers found that better judgments can often be made without deliberation.

As you gain more life experience, you build up a background reservoir of understanding, wisdom and knowledge which lead to instincts. When called upon, more often than not, your instincts will probably be right – or close to right.

When it comes to survival, making the right decisions is key to success. In some situations your decision-response-time could make the difference between success and failure – being first or being last – getting out of a dangerous situation – or even life and death.

The next time you get that instinctive feeling about (whatever or whomever), tune in to your inner voice of intuition. Don’t ignore it. It’s probably right…

30 Comments

  1. My instincts tell me something is coming that’s much bigger than what we’ve seen before. Bigger than a plandemic, worse than an economic collapse.

    I prefer to think things out, but I also seem to work OK under pressure–although the friend in the passenger seat didn’t think so. :)

    1. LAUREN:

      I could have written your first two sentences. I believe it with every single fiber of my being. Something is coming. I’m preparing and fixing my eyes on the Lord, the One who holds my future.

      1. MSG12B, I firmly believe the Lord is telling many of us to “prepare for what’s to come.” We are the one’s preparing to survive. And it is coming fast. That’s how I look at it all now. I don’t think anymore of specific scenarios that may happen. Doesn’t matter what “it” is, but how do we adapt and survive it? Anything from economic collapse to natural disasters; wars or “Mark of the Beast”….can we survive it? I place my trust in the Lord. He has started me on this journey many years ago. And it was that simple sentence: “Prepare for what’s to come.” I laugh now, as I just ran out back then and bought food, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. and thought I was done. It wasn’t so much what we had, but the life skills we would need to survive. (I think I was gently corrected. “Learn the old ways.”). And so I have. Can you garden? Save seed? Defend yourselves? Have water resources, etc., etc., etc.? Knit hats and gloves to stay warm? How about socks? Spin wool to knit those socks? See what I mean?

        It’s the ‘lifestyle’ NRP always talks about. We choose it. No going back now. And after this year already so many people that laughed…well, funny how that’s changed. Doesn’t matter to me tho. I just do what I think the Lord has asked of me. I was thinking the other day as I walked around here and realized how far we have come in the last few years that perhaps all this work wasn’t for us anyway. But maybe for someone who comes after us. Our kids? Don’t know. Someone else? Don’t know. Even that doesn’t matter.

        I just want to hear those words someday: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

        Blessings.

        1. I asked what I needed to prepare for, and the answer was “Increasing economic chaos.” What is happening across the world fits the description if anything does, and it’s only going to get worse as people get hungry.

        2. Lauren, 100% right. Economic chaos is here. And total economic collapse is right behind it, IMO. And I think it will be global, not just here. And how many countries will blame the U.S. for it all? Collapse of the social, economic, and political orders are all tied together. Going to be a brutal ride.

  2. I learned real quick to not second guess myself when back in college. A few times, I would take an exam and instead of handing it in when finished, I ‘reviewed’ the exam. I would see problems I thought I did wrong and changed the answers. Later after getting back the exam, most of the time, the changed answers were changed and were wrong. I reviewed my work when done over the years but I mostly stuck with my initial result. If I question the initial result, I focus and try to determine why the first result was wrong and if so what it should be. I trust my gut instinct a lot more now a days. Unfortunately, my gut is rumbling something fierce telling me something big is about to happen.
    Then again, the rumbling could be caused by the spicy food I just ate.

  3. Experience teaches you to differentiate. The enemy can duplicate many things in order to deceive, but not true peace.

  4. I OFTEN HAVE DEEP AND MEANINGFUL TALKS WITH THE VOICE IN MY HEAD! SOMETIMES OUT LOUD. MY KIDS WILL JUST STAND THERE WATCHING IN PROFOUND AMAZEMENT AND I SAY IT IS THE ONLY WAY I CAN FIND INTELLIGENT CONVERSATION! THEN THEY GO AWAY! LOL

  5. I decided to trust my instinct/gut feeling on this storm we have coming over us. Many were saying nothing will happen, im not so sure this time, 80-100 mph winds will do something, thats for sure. My gut tells me to err on the side of caution and be prepared and tied down.

      1. Thank you DJ and MrsU
        So far so good, just rainy, that we needed. Not sure about other side of island,,,

    1. Kula, y’all take care. I know hurricanes; I’ve lived along the coast of deep southeast TX all my life. Nail it down if you can. I’ll say a prayer for you and yours.

  6. I believe many of us, I know it applies to me, are experiencing that uneasy calm that precedes a violent storm. You’ve done everything you know to prepare for it, now you are waiting for the inevitable. You can’t help but go over, in your mind, everything that might happen, all the time knowing there’s not much you can do or change.

    Some people pray……..some sing songs with the kids to distract them from the ominous storm headed their way…..some scurry about making last minute checks on their preparations.

    I dare say, everyone who follows these pages have had premonitions of hard, possibly violent times in their futures. Now, the “future” has come….or at least is eminent.

  7. Have always regretted it when I didn’t listen. Over the course of my life it’s the things I didn’t do that I regret the most.

  8. Mine was the nagging sensation to gather food even though nothing was really going on to portend the need. Kept feeling like Noah trying to talk himself into buying that first plank of wood even though the day was sunny. Mentioned it to a friend at work who told me I should check out MSB, read some articles, then see if I got some clarity on proceeding.

    First posting I read was from Pioneer Woman on Open Forum, mentioning that they had worked in the pantry that week. She made mention of the width, the height and the amount that was stored. “It’s a lot of work to keep everything rotated but it is a commitment that I have undertaken because I want my family to be as safe as possible, should anything happen.” As soon as I read that simple statement my heart knew that was the type of woman I wanted to be too. She probably never thought twice about writing that sentence. And many times I read the statements from lurkers who feel they don’t really know what they could possibly add to the conversation, so they remain silent. Yet my family is in a much different place because PW did sit down at her keyboard, dash off a quick comment that I would see and take to heart, validating that the nagging sensation was to be acted upon.

    At this point, the wolf is at the door. For anyone to have hesitation about gathering all they can for their family despite not having any external validation is mind boggling to me. Back then it was clear and sunny, now storm clouds are directly overhead – for all to see. So when Prepper Dan flinches as a colleague asks his thoughts on picking up a few extra items, my instinct has me warning that he may need to trust his gut and remain non-committal with a “Couldn’t hurt” type of statement. It’s all just situational. There’s a time to speak and a time to remain silent. Pick the one that fits you best in all situations and things will work out as they should.

  9. If you like them with a toothpick the voice will shut up for awhile

  10. Back in 2003, I was teaching an adult Sunday School class from the book of Genesis. We were up to the story of Joseph in Egypt and Pharaoh’s dreams.

    In one of the dreams, Pharoah dreams of seven fat cows, devoured by seven starving cows. In the second, seven ripe, healthy sheaves of wheat are devoured by seven shriveled, dry ones. Joseph correctly predicts what the dreams mean. (Gen 41:15-57)

    For weeks after that, I “heard” from my inner voice, “You have seven years. You have seven years.”

    I’ve been scrambling for seven years now. While I doubt I have seven years’ worth of prepped supplies, I have what I have because of listening to that inner voice. It will have to be enough.

    We may yet have 3 more months to get as much as we can. Prep your souls, too.

    1. grandee, I have been scrambling for a more than 7 years,what we have will have to be enough.when one preps from poor you learn stretchers and how to cook from scratch …..along with whatever we are able to do this summer/fall . Kinda feel like the Old Christian Gentleman,..just turned 84 . Dr told him, “had less than 6 months to live.” He was depressed over the news…..sharp witt’d younger lady asked him…”Do you think those 3 teens that died in that car crash this morning -got up and faced the day with, Oh goody! this is my last day on earth!? they did not have time to prepare. You have lived your life supporting preachers and helping them get thru school, and into mission fields. Now you have warning, time to make sure you have dotted your i’s and crossed your T’s…and what is that verse…”3 score and 10″ the length of a mans life and “by reason of strength 4 score.”… You have been on borrowed time for 4 years! ” His words were,” No one talks to me like you do.I have never thought of it that way.”
      IF you are in Seattle, you do not have 3 months. It is already present. One can only do what is possible for one at the time… You have to spend within means and ability.

    2. grandee –

      I came across a story yesterday that mentioned BLM was founded on July 13, 2013, after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Which means they have had 7 years of preparation too.

  11. It’s been a rough year for the garden. It’s been super hot and dry, and nothing seems to be growing like normal. I was counting on canning a bunch of things this year, but in view of the lack of production, I’m jumping to plan B. Spent this week cleaning and rearranging storage. Made 2 trips to Aldi and Wally’s to stock up on can goods. Bought some fresh veggies and made and canned 16 qts. of veggie beef soup. My grocery store is looking better, and at least I feel like I’m doing what I can to be ready.
    Wish I had a crystal ball ;-)

  12. For me it is the gut that reaches into my chest area. Un mistakable however it has taken me years to trust and recognize it.
    The last few years it has said, buy grain.

  13. In high school during a dance I did not listen to my instincts. Instead, I went to a stairwell by myself to get to the other catwalk to help with the dance lighting. What waited for me in the stairwell were 3 no-goods who had no good intents. Luckily God (or my dead mom) was watching and sent me a champion kick boxer at just the right time. I have never ignored my instinct again.

    My hubby and I in the 90’s were in Seattle as part of our honeymoon in the summertime. We were walking in broad daylight and I watched a guy in a long trench coat following us. I noted it to my country-boy hubby and he did not think much of it. My city spidey senses were going off so badly that I thought I was going to jump out of my skin. Then the guy signaled to someone across the street. When my head felt like it would explode, I turned and yelled at the guy, taking him by complete surprise. No 20/20 hindsight here. My hubby was shocked and to this day does not think anything was going on.

    Listen to that instinct. It has been developed over thousands of years to help us but we have turned it off. And I agree, it is the Holy Spirit, your Guardian Angel, a loved one who is trying to keep you safe.

    Something bad this way comes.

    1. One time I was in Wyoming on vacation jade hunting. I was on a hillside that had trees towards the top but is was near the bottom which were just a bunch if rick ledges. I am walking around looking for some jade and a thought came to me-my pistol? Where is it? It’s in my backpack, ok, I’m good. Kept walking and started having a feeling I was being watched. I kept looking around and nothing. Then I smelled it. A very strong odor of cat urine. I know the smell, I grew up with cats but this was way stronger. My gut said–get the h–l out of there. Big smell means big cat. My pistol won’t protect crap in the backback. So I went back down the hill very fast with a swivel on my shoulders. Got in my car and left. I was about 15 miles or so off a paved road and this area was not traveled much. It would have taken a while to find my remains if at all.

  14. Instinct is ingrained into all of us . The gut is usually right and I always follow my gut instinct.I would rather make an occasional mistake following my instincts than a lot of mistakes taking time to over think a situation.It’s like making a sudden decision or move while driving to avoid an accident.

  15. cid –
    I personally hope you’ll reconsider and stick around. It took me a little bit of time to figure you out after you had everyone divvying up Ken’s stuff because you didn’t think he’d make it. 🙂 But in the end, I truly believe you’re a good guy. And we need all the good guys we can get right now.

    That thing the other day was semantics. I’ve lived in Texas my whole life and real people say exactly what you said. Nobody but a lawyer in a courtroom backs up to discuss how 9.31 and 9.32 are used in conjunction with one another to form what is known as Doctrine. They call it a Law, heck some even call it a Bill in reference to Senate Bill 378, but day in day out everybody just calls it Castle whatever and people just nod with understanding. So I assure you, signifiers are not needed in conversational Texan. We speak whatever word we choose, we nod in agreement when listening to others and we go on down the road without our spurs getting tangled.

    I agree something has changed. My instinct has been picking out some weird things too. Not necessarily with anyone you mentioned but there are some folks who rub me so wrong that I just skip over their names. I had changed the channel completely because the vibe had gotten really strange and a lot of the regulars began showing up less and less. But finally I decided to come back and just focus on the good because Ken works hard and has my total respect for years of dedication to making this the best site out there. I think his finger is on the true pulse of the nation right now. His eyes are wide open and he is swinging for all he’s worth. That clock is ticking down though. And cid, that scares me. He’s got to land as many punches as he can before the bell goes off, so we have to do our part, lest he get tired. We’ve got to put aside the parts that maybe we don’t personally like, or let some other shit roll off our backs like a duck, just to stand at his side and help. Wasn’t it Moses who they had to hold his arms up as the battle raged? So be it. We can do that. But only if we’re all here. The good people. Catching that vibe that there’s some wolves in sheep’s clothing hiding on these pages causes the good to dig their heels in and stiffen their backs. You’re that sort of person cid. I can sense it now in you, even though I didn’t initially. Stick around with us. We’ve got a rough stretch ahead. And I really think it’s going to take all of us to decipher it as it unfolds.

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