The voice of a liar

For as long as I have known, I have been lied to. Daily. Whispers in my ear that have directed me to do all manner of things, stopped me from doing others. Sometimes, it has benefited me to hear these lies. Often however, it has cost.

Some call this intuition, some call it the gut, I call it the liar. For me, it has caused more harm than good to listen to what it has to say, it has stopped me from doing all manner of things that looking back, I wish I had done.

The reason intuition so often lies I think is because it is not some magic power that looks into the future, it is a subconscious habit that draws from the past. This means that intuition can both support good action and poor.

It supports the good if past experiences have been of the kind that have been beneficial and has built the right thinking or feelings that further progress. It supports the bad when the past experiences have are detrimental to better experience.

In some areas, my experience has not created the thinking or habits to get the most out of my potential. It is what people would call limited thinking or poor attitude. The problem is that as situations take place, the intuition kicks into gear and directs me to avoid or do something.

The times it acts well get rewarded and remembered and the times poorly, excused and forgotten. This creates an availability bias for its success and effectiveness and therefore gets used again next time.

It also means that when it does not have an adequate reply, it chooses default options. Either no action or action as the case may be. It often uses the default for complex problems or where investment is required to learn.

Many smart investors likely used the default option and chose not to invest in bitcoin years ago. It is something that was new and they had no habit or knowledge for it so, the default action kicks in and for many traders that is, stick to what you know. This might have benefited some tech nerds also as the early adopter default may be 'give it a go'.

Intuition can also make one accept information without reviewing it adequately. Our intuition is trained to trust doctors, newspapers and the police. Well, depending on experience. The police are a good example as some people in a community may intuitively trust them based on their experiences while another group in the same community may intuitively be cautious or even hostile based on their experience.

The way many still consume the news is based on intuition too, which is how they feel about the information provided. Statistics give the feel of legitimacy, as does quoting a doctor from a study. The intuition says 'this is okay to accept' and doesn't look back to see if it was actually right. Many have the habit to assume that for information to be published, it must be researched well.

Intuition is just another judgement tool that gives blind feedback without understanding. It really does feel magic at times and when it saves us, we praise its intelligence. But as we don't remember the failures, we do not see the inherent flaws.

There are many examples where the best way forward is often counter-intuitive, which means it goes against what one assumes is correct. An easy example might be asking for a follow and an upvote on Steemit as it is generally not warmly received. Those that do follow the request are likely to be the ones that are just as desperate. It may be better to ask for critique instead or perhaps spend the time to comment well which means reading, understanding and thinking. A big investment I know.

For me, the liar in my head has held me back in jobs, investments, relationships and a hundred other things. Intuition tells me if the pattern is recognised, not whether it is good or bad. If I could change that voice in the head to be one that says, 'hey buddy, time to think deep' instead, I would be in a much better position.

If I could go back and rather than use my intuition to guide me, use critical thought, I have no idea where I would be today but my intuition tells me it wouldn't be in the same place.

Do you rely on intuition? Do you remember all of the times it has served you poorly?

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
_{Posted with Steempress}