#Intuition is a funny phenomenon. By definition, it is the innate the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. It usually shows up as a "gut feeling" or heartfelt sensation. For me, intuition sometimes manifests as visual images in my mind.
In a 2001 Harvard Business Review Article entitled: When To Trust Your Gut, Alden Hayashi explores the case for executives using intuition along with other highly developed analytical tools when making business decision. In nonprofit work, I've noticed that successful fundraisers often listen to these intuitive "feelings", while struggling fundraiser do not. Whether you are in a corporate or non-profit environment, here are five good reasons to trust your intuition:
1) It always knows best.
When drowning in data, your intuition will see the pattern from which to move forward.
2) It does not lie.
According to the intuitive genius, Mark Twain: "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics".
3) It will guide you perfectly.
Since intuition comes from a source that is beyond the rational/analytical mind, it is free from the "noise" that pollutes the signals.
4) It provides clarity.
Intuition is like the morning sunshine that burns off the accumulated overnight fog. When present, vision becomes clear.
5) It offers better decisions.
Steve Jobs famously followed his own iconoclastic decision making impulses. He implored his colleagues at Apple to "have the courage to follow [their] intuition".
In her 2012 book, Intuition and Psychic Ability, Jennifer O'Neill explores the subject in great depth from a nontraditional angle. Read it if you're brave enough to strengthen access to your own intuition.
That is the question!
Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer
Someone thrust upon you by outrageous fortune,
Or to take a stand for who you want,
And by doing so, to live, to thrive, to choose.
In a free society it is still possible to choose with whom we work, and with whom we do not. Oh, I hear the raucous chorus: "Feldercarb! I must work with so and so. That's my job. I can't say no..."
Well, to test the assertion that "I must", I suggest that those in the chorus ask Byron Katie's Four Questions:
1) Is it true?
2) Can you absolutely know that it's true?
3) How do you react and what happens when you believe that thought?
4) Who would you be without that thought?
In my role as a professional coach, I am free to choose with whom I work, and with whom I do not. It's among the most beautiful and enjoyable aspects of being a coach. And, as my coaching practice develops, I am becoming more aware of the folks whom I inspire, and who inspire me in a truly Co-Active way.
My clients are:
- Calm.
- Gritty.
- Motivated.
- Dependable.
- Entrepreneurial.
- Open to change.
- Straightforward and direct.
- Deeply appreciative of coaching.
- Truly nice, pleasant, and friendly folks.
What they bring to a coaching alliance is:
- Trust.
- Courage.
- An open heart.
- Fun and playfulness.
- A positive mental attitude.
- Willingness to experiment, fail, and learn.
- Compassion for themselves and their coach.
- A burning desire to advance and transform their lives.
So, with whom do YOU truly want to work? That is the question.
