 |
| |
Issue # 32 | To Your Success | Sept, 2006 |
"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." ----- Norman Schwarzkopf INTUITION - YOU'RE WISER THAN YOU THINK Do you hear your inner voice? You know, that gut feeling or quiet little whisper that tells you things like, "Don't do this … it doesn't feel right" or, "Pick up the phone and call your mother now" or, "Sure, this person looks good and says all the right things, but something smells" or, "Step up and apologize, you know you're partly at fault." Okay, maybe I should rephrase that. I don't mean do you HEAR it, what I really mean is, do you LISTEN to it … do you follow its advice? Ahh, now that's an entirely different thing, isn't it? We all have intuition and frequently hear its voice (maybe not as specific words, often just as a feeling); yet many of us don't always act on its counsel. Looking back on my life to date, I've observed that my intuition was the wisest advisor I could ever have wished for ... if only I'd always done what it suggested. What grief it could have saved me, and others; what opportunities I could have capitalized on. But no, I had to run that advice past my conscious mind … and what did my conscious mind do? Yep, it started picking that advice apart. "What do you mean it doesn't 'feel' right? What's with this feeling stuff? Look at the facts man! There's nothing to substantiate that. Give your head a shake." "Call my mother now? Hey that's a great idea but I'll do it later … I'm way too busy now." "What do you mean something smells! Check out how successful and smart this guy is … he must be telling the truth. Besides, look what's in it for me ... I WANT that!" "Apologize? Are you KIDDING? Sure I was at fault, but so were they. If I apologize, I LOSE!" With the benefit of hindsight I can clearly see that those times when I was consciously aware of a feeling or sense that I should or should not do something, but listened to my mind's contradictory rationalization instead, it was a mistake. It was not the best choice. But the times when I did do what that voice was telling me, even though it seemed to go against more 'logical' reasoning, it turned out to be a very good choice. How many times have you heard stories of people that have avoided death or serious injury thanks to heeding that quiet voice when it said, "Don't go there" or, "Slow down" just before coming upon a dangerous traffic situation. And how many times have you read accounts of people who have made fortunes because they followed their instincts even though they flew in the face of the respected opinion of the day? So, what exactly is intuition and why is it so often perceived as something relating to women more so than men? And if it is a woman's thing why is it that so many men have used it successfully as well? A definition of intuition common to several dictionaries is "Instinctive knowing, without the use of rational processes." Wow! Instinctive knowing. So where does this knowing come from? Is it based on previous experience? And if so, how does that explain those times when we have an 'inner pull' in regards to something in which we have had zero related experience … I mean, absolutely none? I certainly don't claim to have the definitive answer to this, but I do know from personal experience that it's something to be taken seriously and treated with great respect. I've learned the hard way to disregard intuition at my peril. In fact, over this past couple of years, paying attention to and following the guidance of this inner voice has become a priority for me. Each year-end I choose at least one area in my life to focus upon (usually several), whether it be improving a certain relationship or strengthening a particular element of my character. Trusting and following the wisdom of my intuition has been one of these important areas of focus for me during this time. Have I mastered it? Goodness no! After all, I'm a male, and for some reason we seem to find this more challenging than females do (hence the term "woman's intuition"), although I suspect this is partly due to the fact that males are traditionally taught from an early age that 'feelings' are a feminine thing. But I am much better than ever before at hearing and following its advice. Since becoming more interested in the wisdom of intuition and in following its guidance, I have been led to a number of books that have pointed to what it may be. Three examples are: 1. Prayer is when we talk to God … Intuition is when God talks to us. 2. Intuition is the voice of the 'Soul', 'Inner Being' or 'Higher Self', and it provides guidance from its broader perspective. 3. Intuition is like animal instinct; it's the collective knowledge of humanity passed on through DNA and stored in the memory of our cells, which we each have access to if we just listen to our body. I'm not sure what the correct answer is … perhaps its all three. All I do know is that it never steers me wrong and my greatest ongoing challenge is to prevent myself from overriding its wisdom with the logical babble of my mind. So how about you, how well do you heed your intuition? Do you clearly hear its voice? Do you trust its message? Do you actually follow its lead? Regardless of how well you may already be doing in this area, strive for improvement. After all, your intuition is your greatest wisdom and it always has your best interests at heart. "Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise UPCOMING EVENTS - In partnership with the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce EVENT # 1 - THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION FOR TEAM BUILDING! How Much Is "Working Tension" Costing Your Company? Don't Pay The Price … Learn A 5 Step Formula For Creating Happy, Effective Employee Teams Team harmony and happy employees make for increased productivity and efficiency, a more enjoyable work environment, and strong employee loyalty. As a business owner, manager or team leader, it also makes your life much easier. Ensure that you and your leadership team have the knowledge and tools you need to build and maintain happy, effective employee teams. Enroll today! The Power of Communication for Team Building and Successful Relationships - 2 half-days EVENT # 2 - 8 EASY STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING! Need To Increase Sales But Don't Want To Sacrifice Your Integrity? Forget About 'Tricks' and 'Techniques' … Learn A Proven 8 Step Formula For Sales Success That's Built On A Solid Foundation Of Trust And Respect Highly skilled, high-income earning sales professionals understand that selling successfully is a process ... one that anyone with a reasonable amount of common sense and aptitude can learn; yet few have. Enroll in the '8 Easy Steps to Successful Selling' workshop and learn a results-based selling process with a strong focus on respect, integrity, and the development of long-term relationships. 8 Easy Steps to Successful Selling - 2 half-days The best investment you can ever make is an investment in yourself and your people. I look forward to seeing in the course. To Your Success, Reg Neufeld Growing Into Success Training SHARE WITH FRIENDS!... If you’re enjoying this free newsletter you can pass it along by forwarding this issue to a friend who might appreciate it. Should they wish to receive it regularly they can be automatically added to our subscription list simply by emailing newsletter@growingintosuccess.com with their name and ‘subscribe’ in the subject box. WE VALUE YOUR FEEDBACK! … Our intent for this FREE newsletter is that it be brief, informal and include articles, tips or suggestions to help you achieve the life success you desire … and for each one to be of real value to you. Also included are dates, times and locations of some of our upcoming programs. (Complete Calendar of Public Venue Events on our website.) If you have any comments, questions or suggestions we would love to hear from you. Simply click Reply on your toolbar, jot down your thoughts, and hit send … or email reg@growingintosuccess.com. Should you no longer wish to receive ‘To Your Success’, just hit Reply on your Toolbar … type UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject box … and we will take you off the list immediately. Thank you. Growing Into Success Training |