I’m stuck in London reading online articles from career experts. I am trying not to spend any money until my expedited credit cards arrive, which they never will, and I am rolling my eyes at the circular nature of these posts. We talk about the same topics in this community: self-actualization, money, and empowerment. Whatever the hell that means.
There’s a tremendous amount of advice about listening to your gut and following your instincts. In my own life, I can’t think of one person I know who followed his gut and got it right; however, I know lots of people who followed their guts and are now divorced, working in unsatisfying careers, or saddled with snotty children. I also know people who claim to follow their gut instincts but forget to mention all the subtle and subconscious research that went into making those decisions.
It’s easy to say, “I followed my gut.”
It’s difficult to talk about the long hours spent contemplating and meditating upon success, the right move, and interrelated decisions.
I’m the kind of woman who questions my gut instincts because I am naturally selfish. If my first inclination is to behave one way, I’m more successful when I do the opposite. This is because I’m not Jesus or Malcolm Gladwell.
So what do you think about guts and instinct? Do you follow your gut? Does it lead you in the right direction? Do you make good decisions based on instinct?
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I suck.
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
When brain and heart are connected to gut, my decisions turn out much better. It’s when I don’t listen to my gut – when I feel something is wrong and ignore that feeling – that I make an error. Or two, or three.
And for the record, you’re having a very real, positive impact on the lives of many, Laurie. That definitely doesn’t suck!
I have come to learn to trust my instincts. For the most part, my gut has led me to make good decisions.
Wow! This is an interesting blog post. I’m not sure how following your instincts and being selfish relate. I have always had by best luck following my gut. Put more accurately, I have almost always had trouble when I didn’t listen to that “little voice” in my head. That almost never works out. I think this comes from experience more than anything else.
Good luck working through this issue, because I can’t imagine how you could go through life doing the opposite of what your instincts tell you. I’ve never heard of anyone being successful with that strategy.
All the best!
C’mon, the answer is pretty easy. We’re in HR – we need to question everything. If you trusted your gut, you’d be in operations management and someone else would be using your gut instincts as fodder for their HR blog.
Here’s a different take L,
I didn’t follow my gut, however I chose to not listen to others advice regarding major career decisions. I took a few calculated risks ( I think that is part head and part gut???)…these were not momentary decisions but well thought out decisions…so my view is that you should not just leap, but you should take risks and you should not poll others for their opinions…in the end we are all accountable for our own decisions…would you be the ultimate HR “Punk” without a little risk taking???
we know the answer…
M
Actually, I have an excellent gut that has pretty much never steered me wrong. It makes up for all my other body parts that are defective. It’s one of my best features. But my gut and my brain are BFFs, and they rarely disagree. That helps a lot. The people who get into trouble are the people with a brain-gut disconnect.
I actually think you have a pretty good gut too…you’re just having an exceptionally crappy week.
Poor Laurie, you sound so down. I think you need to increase your daily intake of LOLcats until you get back to the kittehs!
Personally, I listen to my gut long enough to investigate and prove the gut feeling true or false. I can honestly say I can’t think of a time when I made a gut decision that I also didn’t think through critically. Red flags just set you in the right direction to ask good questions.
Instinct can work very well if you know yourself and know the topic. It can fill in the holes of incomplete information.
I think too many people blame other decision drivers such as an irrational emotion responses (e.g. envy, greed, anger,fear) as gut instinct.
Is there a difference between the personal still small voice and the business gut? Every time my still small voice says, “yeah, maybe you don’t want to do that,” and I do it anyway, I always regret it.
One of the main reasons I don’t listen to my gut and carefully weigh all my decisions is that I know how moody I am. One day I’m ready to drop everything I’m doing and change my whole life; the next day I’m back to normal and I realize it was the lack of sleep talking.
My “little voice” tends to put the brakes on. “Don’t do this” and “Don’t do that.” (Probably hearing “NO!” so many times from my parental units.) If I hadn’t married a man who questions, “Why not?” I’d probably not have had any fun in my life.
I totally listen to my gut. When I don’t, that’s when I’ve run into problems. My intuition is pretty good when it comes to sizing people up. If I don’t get a good “vibe” it’s usually trouble.
I actually landed my current job by not following my gut. My gut told me that something wasn’t right about this job. So far it’s the best job I’ve ever had. I’m glad I followed the money and not my gut . . .
If my gut is talking, I feel I should look at my diet.
jk
I think “gut instinct” is a part of decision making, but it needs to be paired with research and experience. I have made gut decisions in the past that backfired…and some that turned out spectactularly well.
One thing I know for sure, you never know what is gonna happen. Long run, be confident in your choices, and be ready to make changes if those choices bomb….
Be nimble. Quick like a kitteh.
You don’t suck…you rock. Own it, chica!
When making a decision, my gut always has to chime in. I feel I need to follow what my head tells me to do because that is, of course, where my thinking and analyzing comes from. I feel that is the right answer. But I have gone with my head over my gut before and things have not ended up the best. Then I think if I had followed my gut I would have had a better outcome. I have started to go with my gut because it tends to be right on. I’ve gone against it and gone with it and find I have more success going with it. Believe it or not!!
Sorry that you’re having troubles and feeling down – just remember you are doing great things and have lots of support!
I think Breanne and Becky put it very well: use your mind and your gut together as best as you can.
I think that your gut is best utilized when: 1) You get a gut feeling about something and you then take some time to check into it, think it over, and decide if the risk is worth it, and 2) In the opposite direction, you’ve been doing heavy thinking about something, you’re about to come to a final decision, and you do a “gut check” to make sure it still feels right to proceed.
Just following your gut is not necessarily a *bad* idea, but it is a more risky one. When we hear of people succeeding by following their gut, it’s likely they were either lucky or selective in their memory.
I have found that there is a difference between gut/instinct and the little voices (reasoning) in my head. When I listen to my instincts they are always right on. When I listen to the little voices, that claim to be reason, I am wrong. Many times instincts have saved me from poor decisions that reasoning, or over thinking, would have made me do. Look at animals. They always act on their instincts because it’s their way of survival. They don’t listen to Oprah or Dr Phil or any other pop psychologist who try to get us to change our way of thinking so that we over-think things. We have to try to get back to some of our primal survival instincts. I have determined that I have 3 factors that try to sway my decision making. My instinct, my reasoning ability (little voices) and the stubborn issues I get in my head (maybe it’s called “magical thinking”) that tell me that just because I think strongly about “A”, then I have to stick with “A”. That way of thinking once kept me in a bad 5 year relationship that lasted 4 years longer then it should have. All because I kept thinking…oh this must be the one because of blah blah blah. My problem is clearing the junk from the instinct, but when I do, it’s always right. I really pay attention to my animal roommates to see how they react to people and situations. I have learned so much from them.
My gut is pretty smart, but it usually has to compete with my socialization and I have a hard time telling the difference. So it’s dicey following my gut, because my instinct is usually to do what my socialization tells me and, as I’m finding out, I was taught some STOOPID stuff as a kid.
So what I find works is to do what George Castanza did in that one Seinfeld episode where he makes note of what his instinct tells him to do, then do the opposite. I started doing that, and immediately I started doing better at work, got a phone number at a bar, and started winning the poker game I was playing at the time. Who says there’s no wisdom on TV?
PS – @Laurie, your blog is better than Jesus’s. Just saying.
This is a topic on which I had a bit of a revelation about during grad school, while reading an article on the career decision process that advocated using gut instincts to make decisions. I can’t remember the title, but the crux of the article said people should follow their gut more, but what I felt the article didn’t examine closely enough was the idea that our ‘gut’ is ‘fed’ by our experience and our education. Our gut instincts aren’t true instincts, but are decisions that we make based on everything we know. So, the more education (both formal and informal) and the wider the breadth of our experiences in life – the better ‘gut’ decisions we are able to make.
One thing I’ve experienced in life is— you don’t follow your gut– or follow your gut— you just wait a few beats— and the logical truth with eventually raise it’s (ugly?) head.
I’m with the brain+gut coalition. I start with the gut by trying to follow my instincts, then follow with the brain by building upon instinct with research/analysis when applicable. Bad plumbing ruins brain+gut efficiency.
Sometimes though, a lot of external noise may cause you to misread you instincts. Other times, instincts are on coffee break/holidays and send out ‘neutral’ signals, leaving things to the brain dept.
Sh*t has mostly happened when I ignored the gut. So respect the gut, and the gut will set you free.
I think the George Costanza approach would work for me, but I just don’t have the guts to actually do it. My instincts are generally wrong, but for some reason I figure the one time I go against my instincts will be the one time they were actually right. It’s why I’m still a Cub fan.
So there you have it: I’m in HR and I’m a Cub fan. How much more self-actualized can you be?
Not real successful with the gut thing…I think some early training (in the form of “OMG! If you touch that/do that/go there you’ll get hurt/die/seriously regret it” skewed my gut meter. So sometimes when it’s screaming “DON’T!!!” with one of the aforementioned dire consequences appended, I ignore it — and usually have a lot of fun.
The only time I get burned for not following my “gut” is during harassment opr other investigations requiring interviews. There is a sub-conscious awareness of what is “really going on” that you should always at the very least explore. I could talk about alot of research about non-verbal cues etc, but I will spare you. It is always the questions you don’t ask that burns you in those things.
“Gut” is such a visceral word. With not-so-fantastic connotations. It brings to mind either (a) ninth grade biology class or (b) a reminder I need to hit the treadmill more.
But I do think instinct, emotional intelligence, whatever you want to call it…is a valuable thing.
I have solid instincts but I’d say my instincts about people are way clearer and way more on target that they are about situations, issues, etc.
Every time I was ever involved in a hiring process, for example, I had a vivid, clear sense of how that person was going to do. And I was proved right in every situation (whether my feedback was appreciated or not).
But I’ve suffered from “little voice” too, mostly when it comes to personal decisions. I can talk myself out of just about any good idea. (And for a long time, I had a lot of people around me who, if I didn’t talk myself out of it, would take care of that for me.)
Have been learning to tell that voice to SHUT IT and realized that the worst thing that can happen in most cases is that I’ll look like an @ss for about ten minutes and then everything is forgotten. It’s all very Deep Thoughts ™ but I like the quote that failure is just a sign that you need to take another pathway to where you’re going.
Laurie – it is easy to say “I just went with my gut.” And I do, sometimes. But it is easier because I know what I’m good at and what I’m not – so I’m not sure it’s gut as much as being self aware.
And you are definitely self aware enough to know that you do not suck!
My snap decisions are the ones I least question later on – good or bad, wrong or right, I don’t regret them. Lesson learned, adventure was had. More often than not, however, my decisions are drawn out, heavily stewed upon, sometimes to the point of being forgotten. I blame my art for procrastination for this, but it too has served me well and frequently kept me out of trouble.
It’s the decisions I talk myself out of, or worse, allow others to talk me out of that really fall flat. Those are the ones I regret and mull over with a lot of what-ifs. Yet when I talk out my decision making process most of it is based on emotion and non-factual type of fluff so it’s easy for a smooth talker to slide in and coerce me in another direction. In the end, it’s best if I keep my decision making process to myself until I have a hard and clear stand one way or another, then open it up for discussion. That’s hard to do. So, yes, I do follow my gut (aka emotions)
I believe in the cosmic crapshoot. The most carefully thought out job searches ended badly. The one liner response that got me into my current job (seven years and counting) was an answer to, “You are overqualified.” My snappy comeback indicated that at the time was grossly underemployed and after too many years in software I would love to MAKE something. The risk turned out just fine. My years in software trained me that customers will always need an explanation of the product if only because the product (or the customer base) is constantly changing. Even engineers (OK especially engineers), need to learn to sell both the product and themselves.
I never trust my gut because I know that my gut = want. This is how people end up making fools of themselves at American Idol auditions. Right now, my gut is telling me to blow this popcorn stand and go to Vegas for a week. But my brain knows I don’t have the money to do that right now. Even though my brain knows this, my gut is going “la la la la la” and is extremely insistent on Vegas.
I have finely honed radar for crazy, and this serves me well when interviewing candidates, but I don’t think that’s gut or instinct. It’s just crazy radar.
But as far as making life decisions, I would NEVER trust my gut. I do alot of thinking, and if my brain happens to agree with my gut, then great. But, otherwise, my gut wants to party. It wants to eat the whole chocolate cake. Gut is the unreliable narrator.
You know Laurie, I wrote a quick little blog on this topic over at Moonfrye.
You can read it here, and hopefully it’ll make you smile a little
Hopping on a flight home — read through all of these awesome comments and will respond personally when I’m back in the states.
My gut says that I need to get home and eat some donuts.
xo/Laurie
We are given ‘guts’ to keep us safe..ever feel someone watching you? or have ‘bad vibes’ when you enter a place? or know that you can trust someone? Our core being is made to protect us. It is okay to check your gut – to make sure your insecurities or ego is in check, but the gut is there for good.
I laughed when I saw this post as I spend an awful lot of time preaching about guts and instincts with hiring managers. They all have amazing ones, just ask them. So you can imagine how shocking it is when a poor hiring decision is made. I even have a slide in my interview training deck entitled, “I know you have great gut instincts, but…”. I think I will have to print this post out and include it in there too
Nothing wrong with listening to your gut/instinct but why take a chance on whether it is good or bad? Ask some questions, research, validate, whatever — that is just smart biz, personally or professionally.
I get it. It’s hard when you really want something…but it sucks being wrong…there’s usually more paperwork when you are wrong. I really hate paperwork.
After many years of working with Loss Prevention officers I have learned one thing from them ” spidey senses or gut feelings” is your subconscious telling you something is not logical. So whether it is a statement or a body reaction like eye contact …something triggers the gut feeling.
I tend to take more time exploring that thought before making decisions.
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I followed my gut and it got me in trouble. Screw that crap, I’m with you where are the donuts?
My gut told me not to take a job I was offered outside of my field back in 2003… I was going to, but I just couldn’t make myself do it so I reneged on a verbal acceptance and in so doing permanently alienated myself from their HR department, which bites me in the butt at a point in time when I really would like to work for this company.
My gut told me to quit my job in 2007. I think that one was probably right but considering I don’t have a job now and can’t find one, I guess the jury is out.
Honestly, I think my “gut” is contaminated a bit by various mental health issues and all the bits and pieces of conditioning that I have picked up throughout my lifetime, and mostly by fear. For example, my gut tells me not to sign up for softball this time because it makes me feel like crap about myself, but isn’t it better to try and develop better methods of coping with the anxiety and embarrassment that I feel during a game? Wouldn’t that be the option that would help me grow as a person? In a less trivial example, I will say that my gut is telling me not to have kids and unfortunately (since my husband really wants them), after years of trying to convince myself otherwise, I think that is probably the right instinct for me.
I guess what I would try to do ideally is ask my gut what it wants, then time out a bit and try to figure out what is causing that preference and whether it is being influenced by anything unhelpful, and try to consider the consequences of the various options. Then ask myself again how I feel given that information. If I still have a strong gut feeling and can’t think of a reason not to trust it, I would probably go with that. Which I guess is not really “trusting your gut” at all.
@Dan Interesting.
@Patrick I think you need to write Deep Thoughts 2.0 — and I’m serious about this.
@Leanne Wait, let’s clarify: sometimes I suck. I’m self aware enough to know THAT.
@Queen Maybe this is all about style. I regret my snappy decisions. My quick YES to question that should be answered NO.
@Spouse Best. Statement. Ever.
@H Aria I think people rely upon their guts to justify/explain their inflated egos. Guts are a convenient excuse. Also, my gut is more like jelly roll.
@Joseph Will read it soon. Thanks!
@Dana I dunno. I mean, I respect this point of view, but I don’t share it.
@havrilla Hilarious. If I followed my gut, I’d have 17 cats.
@batgrrrl I dunno. I think spidey sense is used to describe something that we can’t explain. Maybe it’s spidey sense or maybe it’s really just our minds operating beyond the boundaries of language. But honestly, I believe in pausing (like you) and thinking.
@John Amen.
@SGC I know you well enough to know that your analytical mind + your personal introspection + your general insecurities (that we all have) = a cautious and awesome woman.
I think our brains have evolved to be excellent delegators. We have lots of different parts to our minds and not all of them are classically conscious. We ignore these parts of us at our own peril. But like anything, you need to find a middle ground. Pair your gut with your critical reasoning. Know yourself, the good, the bad and the biases. I trust my gut, but I know it is as fallible as the rest of me.