The Diminishing Art of Intuition

“The only real valuable thing is intuition.”? – Albert Einstein

Intuition: The power or faculty of attaining direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference.

Diminishing: To become less.

Since the dawn of time, intuition has been humanity’s silent guardian. Long before science, data, or technology, our ancestors and forebearers relied on intuition, reading of the environment and surroundings (in today’s terminology it is called reading the room or gut instinct) in navigating the dangerous and unpredictable world. This inner wisdom, an unexplainable yet powerful knowing, was key to survival and advancement.?

The modern contemporary world can often be chaotic, overwhelming, noisy, and drowning in information. Unfortunately, external validation is often favored over internal guidance while groupthink and societal expectations silence internal guidance systems. A well-intended world values logic, data, and proof, which paradoxically, is oftentimes easily manipulated to only resemble truth.?

While Intuition is often dismissed as irrational or unreliable, it has ultimately been humanity’s deepest source of truth, guiding progress and survival throughout human history.

Enemies

Excessive Overthinking

When logic is overused, it can overshadow gut instincts, making it harder to trust inner wisdom.

Self-Doubt

Self-doubt causes one to second-guess themselves, resulting in a muting of the inner voice.

Narrative

The known is often silenced for what one chooses to believe.

Groupthink

Intuition that is seemingly out of harmony with groupthink is often ignored.

Distraction

The inner voice is suffocated by frantic busyness.

Social Conditioning

The following lead to a weakening of the individual's ability to trust their own thoughts:

Follow rules. Trust Authority. Everyone Else Is. Seek Approval.?

Information Overload

The deluge of conflicting information makes it impossible to listen to one’s own thoughts.

Stress

A paralyzed mind is too busy reacting to hear inner wisdom.

Proof2

It’s hard to trust something that can’t be measured and explained.

&

It’s easy to trust something that has been measured and explained.

In summary - if you don’t have proof you think you have nothing and if you have proof you think you have everything. Be warned. Neither is totally accurate.

The Proverbial Double Edge Sword

“Intuition isn’t the enemy of logic, but rather the cutting edge of it.”?– Henri Poincaré