[SERIES] 5/7 Unpopular Belief: Trust Your Gut
But what about evidence?What about data?What about expert opinion?This is Part 5 of the 7 Unpopular Beliefs Series.
Trust Your Gut!
Expert Advice
The idea here is that you're believing in someone else's abilities to understand your situation better than you. Sometimes that's really helpful.In that case, you'd be following your gut to go with someone else's.
Heuristics
If you've done this a million times before, you've probably developed what psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer refers to as a heuristic based gut feeling.The idea is that even if you can't consciously articulate your situation, your brain has seen this so many times that it's actually making you feel what's different this time.It's called a heuristic. We use these all the time.
Can you read this?
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae.
That's a really basic heuristic. Your brain is just making it happen for you.If you've done something enough times, Gigerenzer estimates that 80% of the time, your gut is accurate. That is a really, really good chance.
Avoid Regret
Ultimately, a major motivator for people is avoiding regret. We don't want to get to our death beds and struggle with something we should or shouldn't have done.If you didn't follow your gut, you have a much higher likelihood of regretting your decision.If the expert was wrong, you can blame the expert. How were you supposed to know? You're not the expert.If you had a gut feeling and you ignored it . . . good luck getting rid of that regret.If your wrong and went with your gut, well, you were just wrong. But at least you didn't know the answer and pick something else.
*Disclaimer for High-Stakes Decisions*
Remember the consequences of your decision in high-stakes situations.Here's an example of a flawed gut feeling:In 1999 NYPD fatally shot Amadou Diallo in New York City. Police fired when they thought the young Guinean man was reaching for a weapon, but he was actually unarmed and digging in his pocket for his identification.What happened? Social conditioning creates non-conscious beliefs. These beliefs are hard to identify because they're non-conscious. You're not aware you have them. This is the basis for racism, classism, sexism and a ton of other "isms."It's these non-conscious beliefs that produce the first impressions that can trigger flawed decisions.
2 Minute Action
Here are a few things that only take 2 minutes to do:
- Is there someone in your life who just drains the energy out of you? That's a gut feeling. Cut it off.
- Make a subtle gesture of gratitude or kindness to someone you otherwise might not. This helps those around you feel safe and more like themselves. Others are less likely to make rash decisions or judgments when they feel like we're all on the same team.
- Phone a friend. If you have a high-stakes decision to make, call 3 experts.
If You Feel Guilty For Taking Breaks, Read This
Do you play games in your phone?I don’t. I would love to write the rest of this post about how I think games are dumb and just steal your attention from important stuff.
In fact, for most people, I really do believe this is true.
But I’ve just spent the past 2 days with a friend and colleague who is making some serious impact in the world. He’s someone who works a lot but knows how to take time and clock out to take care of himself. He loves video games. He’s still successful.
It’s not as simple as saying:
“Video Games are bad.”“TV is bad”“Consumptive entertainment is bad.”
This is something I’ve wrestled with for years.
For me, I don’t like the feeling I get after getting up from a TV episode or a movie or a video game. If I didn’t get something from it, it feels like I just wasted a lot of time. So it’s not really as simple as saying this one thing is bad and always bad and you should avoid it.
Please be wary of anyone who gives you broad, sweeping advice like this.
It’s up to you. It’s up to you to listen to your gut and follow your internal compass. You can be very healthy and productive while also having a few vices. Normal. So, I say all this because I want to get a calibration reading on your internal “Guilt Compass.”Guilt is one of the best ways to kill motivation. Get a good read on this, because your output depends on it.
2 Minute Action
What’s something you feel guilty about?What makes you feel guilty about it?Is it because that thing is inherently bad?Is anyone getting hurt?Take 2 minutes to find an example and make time in the next week to test out your guilt radar By actually putting this behavior into practice and noticing how you react.
The 2 Minute Life Changing Assessment
What are your goals?Close your eyes for a minute and picture what it would be like to be there.
Be specific.
Where are you?How do your days go?Who are you with?The more specific you can be, the better. The point is to realize that it’s these experiences that are what you desire, not the number of dollars you think it’ll take or the title on your business card. Once you’re specific about these questions, you’ll have to take action on the life changing assessment I use many times per year.
2 Minute Action:
Are your current daily behaviors on track to getting you there?That’s it. That question is the whole assessment. You don’t need a specialist to know the answer. You’ll feel it in your gut. Today is the day to either start something or refine your methods. You only have the rest of your life.