WHAT ARE GUT FEELINGS AND CAN YOU TRAIN YOUR GUT?

That hunch you get about someone. The feeling something isn’t right. It comes to you and it can be persuasive. You can act on it, but you also have to be careful. Here are some thoughts on intuition and how it can work for you.

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If a ball comes flying straight at your head, you duck. We all do. It’s called instinct and it’s built into us. Experts call it a biological force that impels you to do something in a certain way.

Like ducking.

Intuition, or gut feeling, is different. You sense something is off. Or a wave of calm comes over you after a tough decision, convincing you that you’re doing the right thing.

You can trust your gut. At least, most of the time. And while you can’t change your instinct, you can improve your intuition and learn how to use it.

WHERE IT COMES FROM
Your brain is linked to other parts of your body through a nervous system and chemical signals. Some neuroscientists say what we call the “mind” is really this connected system of brain and body.

That explains why you can “feel” a gut reaction: tension or tightness, goosebumps, butterflies or a sinking feeling in your stomach. After a decision, you might feel peaceful, safe, or happy.

Researchers at Leeds University have concluded that intuition is a very real process where your brain uses past experiences and cues from itself and the environment to make a decision. The decision happens so quickly that it doesn’t’ register on a conscious level.



Emotions, gut feelings included, aren't dumb responses that always need to be ignored or corrected, says UK neuroscientist Valerie van Mulukom. Your brain is constantly comparing new input to stored information. This way, the brain is always ready to react in the best possible way. If something doesn’t work out as predicted, your brain updates its info – a bit like a software update on a computer that fixes a bug.

WHEN IT'S WRONG
Gut feelings can be wrong sometimes. That can be because they haven’t been updated with the latest information (just like the buggy software).

Anxiety can feel the same as gut feelings. How do you tell the difference?

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines anxiety as an emotion characterised by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.

A gut feeling generally deals with what’s happening right now. It comes to you calmly and offers you a solid idea. Anxiety jumps around and makes you fret about the past and the future. It can give you a feeling of dread and jumps from one conclusion to another.

Gut feelings can be spot on in situations you’ve experienced lots of times (such as making judgements about the weather), explains Ben Newell, an Australian associate professor of cognitive psychology. But if a situation is new or valid cues are hard to come by, relying on your gut may not be wise.

Your gut can also be shifted by bias. If you were once bitten by a big dog, your gut might tell you to stay away from every massive mutt you see. But not all big dogs are biters. So, it pays to think for a moment if that feeling is pure gut, or tainted by a fear – or even a prejudice.

TRAINING YOUR GUT
Like any talent or skill, practicing to trust your gut is the best way to get good at it, says Lucy Gower, founder of Lucidity. When people talk about having great intuition or being good decision-makers, it’s because they’ve worked at honing those skills, made mistakes, learned from them and tried again.

Here are six tips on training your gut from experts at heysigmund.com:

1. Listen. Your intuition can’t talk to you if you’re not listening. When you start to take notice, good things will happen.

2. Feel. You’ll know your intuition is there because you’ll be able to feel it – if you let yourself. Sometimes the only way to describe it is as “just knowing". You’ll feel when something is right – it will feel clear, nourishing and enriching.

3. Let bad feelings go. When you’re angry or depressed, you can easily make bad decisions. Research has found that people made better intuitive choices when they're in a positive mood.

4. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. The more information you gather from the environment, the more the subconscious part of your brain has to work with – and the more accurately its decisions will be.



5. Connect with others. Sometimes, you have a feeling about people but can’t quite put a finger on it. The ability to pick up on thoughts, feelings and intentions of others is called "empathic accuracy”. The more time you spend with people, the more you can tune your empathic accuracy. Being able to pick on the signals of others will improve your intuition.

6. Find time to be silent and still. Your intuition is always sending warnings and encouragement. Don't be too busy to notice. Let your mind wander and be open to what comes to you.

7. Use your dream time. Dreams are how the brain processes information left over from the day. They are rich with valuable data, so they can work hard if we let them. Before you fall asleep, turn your thoughts to any problems. Think about possible options or resolutions as you’re falling asleep. Close your eyes and let your brain do the rest.

Albert Einstein said, "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift”.

So, use your brain, but don’t ignore your intuition. Sometimes, your gut knows best.

Sources: https://www.healthline.com, https://www.psychologytoday.com, https://theconversation.com, https://www.lifehack.org, https://exploringyourmind.com, https://www.spacesworks.com, https://www.heysigmund.com