A friend commented on a police situation he was part of that included a desperate criminal. He used a phrase that sounded something like this:
An intuition told me to go to the “right.”
As Frank was sharing the story, I kept thinking about intuition. Where does it come from? How do I get it? Immediately, two other words joined my thoughts: Training and Experience.
I believe intuition is that quantum leap of mind over a situation that helps us escape a jam or make the best move. It’s something that comes from much training and experience.
Can you train for intuition? How many experiences do you need?
A lot of science probably describes intuition, but I won’t research the question. These thoughts quickly show up in my mind, and I think I have a handle on them.
Can you train enough for intuition, and how many experiences do you need for intuition to work?
You can train in different scenarios whereby you anticipate the best solution. That becomes your intuition. Will you gain intuition with a single training? Perhaps some but constant repetition of movement and decisions help you intuit the best result. Muscle memory comes to mind, and you comprehend what you can and cannot do from the experience of repetition.
Do you remember the first time you successfully pedaled your bike down the sidewalk and returned home safely? I don’t. I do remember training wheels. Eventually, you pedaled with those side wheels, never touching the ground, and became brave enough to take them off! You find your balance does not need artificial support systems. Pedal faster! Balance becomes easier! There’s a rhythm to sting upright!
A surgeon often practices in safe environments before doing live surgery on a real person. But intuition guides their hands through the areas where an unknown challenge reveals a dilemma or alternate path.
Driving in wet or icy conditions, fog or wind, storms or mountains – you can only learn in the classroom so much, but then you must go to the road and train. That becomes your experience. Success is often garnered through your experience, but that comes from training and intuition.
Build your first house, and you can hopefully gloss over the mistakes. Keep building, and you will learn how not to make mistakes. Build more, and you’ll spot problems quickly before picking up your tools!
Do you remember standing before a crowd with knees shaking and voice quavering? Do it enough times, and you will eventually become more successful. The time will come when you ever wondered what your problem was back then!
Get burnt with a hot stove, and you quickly intuit you want never to do that again!
Here’s My Thought Today
Intuition can happen anytime and anywhere.
But it may not come without training or experience.
Otherwise, you are simply guessing and trying something.
Wait. Guessing and trying is a form of experience.
That’s a crucial piece of knowledge.
You learned whether it worked or you could have done something differently.
The key is to learn how to make good decisions.
Intuitions will guide you when a decision needs to be met quickly.
The main thought is that you’ll never know if your intuition was correct until you use it.
You should never leave anything on the shelf untried or unused.
Life is wasted if we always say, “If only…”
I seldom sit in traffic if I intuit an alternate path.
Exiting, turning, and even pulling a U-turn may be better.
I’ll never know until I try; I almost always do.
Experience shows I’m often right. There. Victory!
There have been times I’ve been wrong
But I’m not upset I had tried
Trying produces results to measure
And learn for the future – it will happen again.