Gut Check: Calibrating With Yourself

By: Kenrick Cleveland

Intuition is defined as "the immediate apprehension of an object by the mind without the intervention of any reasoning process" [Oxford English Dictionary].

Isaac Asimov said of the subject, "Intuition is the art, peculiar to the human mind, of working out the correct answer from data that is, in itself, incomplete or even, perhaps, misleading."

How is your relationship with this aspect of yourself? Can you find your own way through a situation with incomplete data?

We all have the experience of gut feelings, most likely in the form of danger. . . Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is an unpleasant reminder of our intuitive natures. Or maybe you've experienced it in a romantic situation. We've all heard stories of a man or woman meeting their mate for the first time and thinking to themselves, 'This is the person I'm going to marry. I can feel it.'

Intuition is an aspect of emotional intelligence. It can be exercised, like a muscle (not unlike persuasion) and with patience, intention, attention and study, it can grow into an incredible asset.

Following your hunches, gut feelings and intuitions is entirely acceptable to apply in business as well as life in general. They are a sign that your Gentle Giant, other than conscious mind is hard at work flawlessly guiding our lives as we've requested. (Check out my other articles for an idea of how to get in touch with your Gentle Giant.)

People experience intuition differently. I feel it in my stomach. It's a queasy feeling that radiates sharply. Other people feel it in their chests, heart pumping faster. Others have a hardness at the back of their throats, like they can't swallow. Paying attention to these subtle (and not so subtle) physical shifts can make all the difference in our self-calibration. These shifts in some cases can mean the difference in the measures we take to close a deal or get out of a sticky situation.

Following your hunches, however, should not negate logic and reason but act in combination with that side of your mind. In our day and age, the concept of hunches is oftentimes relegated to new agers and sometimes mocked in business. And yet, think about military personnel or cops who are constantly in touch with this aspect of themselves. These are professions that are seldom seen as new agey. Or consider Lee Iacoca who once said, "The only mistake I ever made was not listening to my gut."

Can you remember back to a time when you ignored your gut? Think of the unpleasantness that could have been avoided (a broken heart, a deal gone bad. . .)

By checking in, centering, and gaining clarity, our persuasion is enhanced immeasurably in all aspects of life. A really great resource on intuition is Laura Day's book, 'Practical Intuition,' which contains some amazing exercises to strengthen and stretch the "sixth sense" or really, what I like to think of as our relationship to and messages from our gentle giant.

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Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of wealthy prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies. Get your own completely unique content version of this article.