Business instincts. Mother’s intuition.
When we talk about instincts or gut feelings, we tend to downplay their importance or value. When I think back on decisions I make for Geben, a lot of it is chalked up to instincts. I didn’t write a business plan. I don’t hem and haw over all the various options. I consider the situation and make a decision, oftentimes solely based on instincts. But, when people ask me about my decision-making process, I don’t have a good response. It ends up sounding like it just happened, or — worse — that I’m lucky.
This style of decision making isn’t a coincidence. It isn’t luck. Mistaking instinct as an accident diminishes the experience and perspective that led you to that moment in time.
In other words:
“Intuition isn’t guessing. It’s sophisticated pattern matching, honed over time.” — Seth Godin
You aren’t lucky. Things don’t just happen. You worked hard to gain experience, to think critically, to quickly process thoughts, to identify connections, to clearly see warning signs.
“Trust your instincts” is excellent advice. But, even more importantly, appreciate your highly developed intuition as an incredibly valuable skill. Don’t sell yourself short by inadvertently devaluing the intuition you’ve honed over time.