Intuition

I had to make a big but quick decision today. I was hit immediately by a thought of what I should do - the right choice. My intuition was telling me which way to go. But we're taught to second guess our intuition. We are taught to be rational, to rely on our logic, and to analyze decisions for the pros and cons, the long- and short-term benefits and drawbacks.

Intuition, as best I understand it, is a remnant of our evolutionary past. It is part of our animal instincts. These instincts helped us find food - and determine the difference between the poisonous berries and the nutritious ones. They made mothers care for their young - to avoid the decimation of a community. They made leaders protect others. They have, over the millenia, helped us survive.

In modern society when we are fortunate enough not to have to worry about our day-to-day survival, our instincts help us navigate other aspects of our lives. I think that they help us determine what is right and wrong - a metaphorical version of which berries are poisonous and which are nutritious. Our intuition is that little feeling that is impossible to describe that seems to push us in a certain direction when we are faced with a decision.

However, we have lived through the rise and fall of enlightened civilizations. We even lived through our own civilization's 'Enlightenment.' We advanced through the Industrial Revolution. We pursued universal truths. We landed on the moon. We split the atom. We decoded our DNA. We live in the Information Age. All of this so-called 'enlightenment' tries to put a check on our intuition. It tells us to analyze and use our 'higher being' rationality to make decisions.

There is certainly nothing wrong with analyzing a decision. (I have to say that as I'm one of the most analytical people on the planet, sometimes to my own detriment.) It's good to think about the long and short term ramifications and the pros and cons, etc etc. But this must be done in conjunction with our intuition - that little feeling that has guided us through hundreds of thousands of years.

Luckily today, my analysis agreed with my intuition and I made the right decision. But it was a lesson in weighing the importance of analysis versus intuition.