Awakening your 'spidey-sense' to make better and quicker decisions at work.

Utilizing our 3 brains

Intuition is often seen as a navigational system, as it guides us through uncertainty and crossroads of options. This system is supported by the 3 brains we all have but might not be aware of: brain in the head, in the heart, and in the guts.

This is why we often rely on our?gut feelings?when making quick decisions or even experience a ‘sinking feeling’ when receiving bad news. Here is a breakdown of the science behind intuition:

• The subconscious part of your brain?is continuously processing information and trying to predict outcomes based on past experiences.
• The enteric nervous system?powerfully connects your brain to your gut. It communicates extensively with your brain via the gut-brain axis.
• A gut feeling arises?when your subconscious brain communicates its newly detected pattern to your gut, which responds by causing you to feel an intuition.

Subsequently, people will have better intuition when they have more experience in an area. The brain will store more information on this certain topic, so it will be available for your subconscious to match with the current experience.

Read more about the science behind gut feelings and if we should always follow them?here ?or watch the 3-minute thorough explanation from Seeker?here .

Tapping into the subconscious

In the words of US-based researcher, Dhaliwal, in contrast to analytical thinking— which is often slow, logical, conscious, and deliberate, intuitive thinking is automatic, fast, and relies on our subconscious.

Most people don’t practice this skill on the daily, but you can get a head start by trying out these exercises and build trust with your intuition:

Listen to Your Cues

To tap into your intuition, monitor your body language changes to different stimuli:

• Expansive. Cues such as turning your torso towards something, smiling, and leaning forward are all indicators your intuition is saying, “Yes!”
• Contracted. Cues such as crossed arms, pursed lips, or leaning backward can indicate your intuition saying, “No.”

Name Your Emotions

Naming inanimate objects (or in this case, emotions) is called anthropomorphizing.?Studies? show that it can help alleviate loneliness and promote social connection.

Build Mental Bridges

The ability to connect different seemingly unrelated ideas is a special trait intuitive people have. Learning about different things will help you build more of these bridges, like:

• Trying out a new hobby.
• Taking a new course/class.
• Exploring a new book/movie genre.

Employ Visualization

When you’re put in a difficult situation, try to narrow it down to a few possible situations. For example if it’s about a discourteous roommate:

• You confront the person and tell them you know they’ve been eating your sandwich from the fridge.
• You stick a letter on the fridge, asking if anyone has been eating your sandwich.
• You ignore it completely, opting to avoid the confrontation altogether.

Then, visualize what would happen in each scenario. Which one will provide the best outcome?

Learn more about the ways you can strengthen your intuition in the full article?here .

Putting it to work

Having a ‘spidey-sense’ of some sort is not only beneficial in your daily life, but definitely at work too. In an environment where you’re constantly required to make the right decisions, it is important to have sharp intuition, as it will help you with:

• Identifying your ‘true’ sense of mission and purpose.?Being clear in what you want will move you faster to your definition of success.
• Opening up to new ideas that your rational mind may not be open to.?Listening to your intuition will stop the limiting patterns that lead to missed opportunities.
• Sensing when things are off with a partner or client.?This allows you to tweak your approach or tactics based on how people are behaving vs what they’re saying.
• Hearing the voice of caution to avoid bigger risks.?Understanding risk is critical to any business and will help you steer clear of a major downfall.

Curious to know how intuition could actually help you at work? Find more insights in the article by management consultant firm, Cornerstore Dynamics,?here .

Would you consider yourself an intuitive?

An even better question—are you using your intuition's maximum potential to help boost your productivity?

Write down the most insightful parts of today’s?Monday Mavens?edition, so you can implement them throughout the week.

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