Listen to your Instincts
Has there been a time when you are confronted with a major crossroad in your life? In this time, you lose control and everything you learned seems to be insufficient for you to come up with a solution or action. It is also in this period when you feel uncertain on things you experience for what it means or what its worth for you. Then, it is the time to trust your instincts. However, what is an instinct? Do we actually can trust it?
Literally speaking, instinct is an innate pattern of behavior every human being has in response to certain stimuli. By saying innate, instinct itself is inborn such that everybody has it. For example, when we are confronted with danger, we simply either fight back or stay away from it. In doing so, we do not use our rational thought but basically respond through our senses and react accordingly.
It may sound being instinctive associates with being animalistic or primitive. Every human being is endowed with the ability to comprehend to solve problems and seek for betterment. It is true that rationality is essential in times of difficulties. However, our rationality can also cloud us to utilize the simplest manner to approach a situation. Our learned behavior since we were young from our family and immediate surroundings create a deviation from our basic instincts. Instead of instantaneous reaction, we take time to analyze and sometimes missing the most suitable response.
For an instance, making crucial decisions related to career shifts. This involves a complex mind- boggling process of weighing risks and benefits for one to come up with the most objective outcome, which will deliver perceivably the greatest good for the greatest number of people. However using instincts, we take things in a simple manner. Taking the situation and putting in a context of meeting one's needs. This means trying to see the situation in a perspective of needs. Using the same example, one must simply ask basic questions about career shifts. Few of these questions is, "Is my current work able to help meet my physiologic needs to survive?" or "Does my current job makes me feel secure and safe?" Should answers to these questions be on the negative side, so there is no reason to keep the current job, regardless of other factors; such as fame, reputation, future benefits and consequences.
The advantage of using one's instinct is one focuses on what is happening now. Those events grounded on empiricity. It is easy to respond as one see the situation unfolding, rather than speculating on what will happen in the future. When one starts thinking of the future, then one needs to deal with abstract thoughts, requiring one time and precision. This precision becomes more complicated when the decision considers emotions influencing the situation. Then; one can say it is better to trust one's instinct, instead of relying on rational thinking blended with some subjectivity of feelings about vague, abstract prospective thoughts.
Indeed, instincts can be useful but one must be careful not to depend on it at all times. It can be used when emotions seems to be stronger than individually-shown objectivity. When one feels fear, sadness, anger or any negative feeling while on the process of making a decision; it is better to use what our instincts dictate us what to do. As a rule in solving complex problems, use objectivity when you are objective. When you are not, better settle with your instincts. Basically saying, instincts are not made inherent to human if it has no purpose at all. It does and surely can help.
Therefore; rather than dreaming and losing our grasp of realism with our life's goals and objectives, perhaps it would be better to see first what we have on hand in the present time. From there, we react and move accordingly. Then, when we have dealt properly the simplest aspects of the situation probably through our instincts, we can start thinking complex using our learned rationality. :-)
Comments
Post a Comment