Editor’s note: This is part six of a seven-part series on developing your intuition.
It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It’s my partner.
When I worked on the polio vaccine, I had a theory. I guided each [experiment] by imagining myself in the phenomenon in which I was interested. The intuitive realm…the realm of the imagination guides my thinking.
Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next.
Jonas Salk
Intuition is my most valued business tool.
Lewis Platt, former CEO of Hewlett Packard
Learning to use your Intuition is like learning a new language. Once you are fully conversant in the new language, you no longer need to think about what you are going to say; it just comes flowing out of you.
So, too, intuition can become second nature. Instead of thinking in a left-brain, analytical mode all the time, you can learn to “think” in a right-brain way, too. Instead of experiencing “analysis paralysis,” you can experience great success and fulfillment through inspired creativity.
Intuition uses a “language” made up of pictures and feelings. Over time, you can create your own easy-to-use “language.” For example, if you want to get a read on someone or some situation, try visualizing them as a car, a book, or an animal. See what kind of car, book, animal, etc. comes to mind and then trust that the “feeling” or image you get is an accurate read of the person or situation.
In time you will learn to trust your impressions and use them to easily, accurately, and quickly “read” a person or situation with this simple, yet very powerful tool.
For example, if I imagine someone as a car and then “see” them as a bright, sporty, red Lamborghini, I’m initially sensing that this person is a major extrovert who is always on the go. But then as I dig deeper and enter the car, I might see that the interior is strewn with garbage and tons of books and papers. That would tell me that this person’s internal life is a mess. So, within just a few seconds of tuning in I have a lot of information about this person. If I chose to look more closely at other aspects of the car, the engine, the trunk, etc., all this would reveal even more to me about the person.
This may sound too simplistic, but I can assure you that after having done hundreds, if not a thousand readings in my life, this technique can reveal a lot about a person.
Please see my next post for further suggestions on how to use your intuition in your daily life.
