The only difference between intuition and insanity is accuracy.
I’m not sure who said this first, but I’ve heard this quote (or something very close to it) many times. One of my friends just said it again on a call this morning. Many of us think our intuition is accurate, but how do you know? And if it is inaccurate, how do you fix it?
I’m a big fan of the scientific method. In a nutshell, the scientific method says that we should define the question, form a hypothesis, test it, adjust, then test again. Repeat until you have something that can be reproduced consistently.
Why not apply the same level of scrutiny to our intuition?
The next time you have a gut feeling about how something is going to turn out, write it down. When you finish an important appointment, like a job interview, write down how you feel afterward. Write it down IMMEDIATELY. Later, go back over your notes to see if it was right or wrong, or if your feelings predicted a certain outcome. If you were wrong, try to figure out how you might have misinterpreted your intuition and adjust. See if you can start seeing patterns in your feelings and reactions. Repeat, repeat, repeat – until you find ways to listen to and interpret your intuition that are almost always accurate.
I think many of us don’t want to subject our intuition to the scientific method because we believe it is a gift that drops out of the sky with no explanation or process. Nonsense. Intuition is like everything else: You have to test it, adjust, and repeat.
Filed under: Intuition Tagged: | Intuition, intuitive decision making, Scientific method
