Educational articles

Painting work by Asta Dekinienė

Rasa Baltė Balčiūnienė
Founder of HAI Institute, author of leadership programmes

Intuition is what we call inner knowing. It can also be called other synonyms, but acting on intuition is what allows us to make forward-looking decisions in the face of uncertainty. If you ask a successful person how he or she managed to make this or that successful decision, he or she is likely to say: "I rely on my inner knowing". That is why we all need to develop the competence of hunches (inner knowing) - it is just important not to confuse it with hunches, automatic or emotional reactions.

So how to master this skill?

Be present in your body

The human brain can operate in automatic or experiential mode. Automatic functioning is based on patterns, stereotypes and repetition. We learn certain ways of doing things and repeat them automatically without even thinking about it. This saves energy and speeds up processes. However, automatic ways of doing things can eventually start to limit us and no longer produce the desired results.

Listening to your body, being aware of its signals, states and sensations, helps you find solutions in non-standard and critical situations. Being in your body, feeling your body, means talking, thinking and observing your body's reactions at the same time. The body reacts to information in the environment and sends a signal-response. If the body tenses up, it is necessary to take a closer look at what is happening. This is a signal that there is tension between you and the outside (context). If you don't identify this tension, your brain is likely to activate an automatic response and in these situations you will start to behave as you stereotypically did as a child - repeating actions to get attention or avoid pain. Body tension is an opportunity to change your behavioural pattern, to solve a dilemma, to achieve a better personal outcome in a project or negotiation.

Body awareness is developed through mindful self-care and bodywork practices. Start by observing how your body feels in different situations, how it reacts to different people. What builds up in your body - tension or pleasant feelings? If you feel an unpleasant sensation in your throat or chest, this is a signal that you might make a mistake in that situation or that you might not get the result you want.

Watch what is behind the words and images

Many scientific studies show that 70-90% of human communication is non-verbal, i.e. communication that is not verbal, overt or subconscious. Often the interlocutor says one thing, but we sense that this is not the case and have difficulty explaining why.

Non-verbal communication is also important because 80% of the information we receive is through our visual organs. Images have a huge impact on our psyche. Many advertisements are full of stereotypical images and we don't even look at what is behind them. We buy because we have seen an advertisement for that product or someone has mentioned its name. So the brain goes into automatic mode. If we look at an advertisement as a source of information and use our senses, our body's reaction would tell us: whether it is worth seeing or not, whether it is a good product or not, whether it is being lied about or not. Use the body's signals to see what is behind the words and images. If you don't feel your body, you will automatically take in the information, and only when you feel your body can you choose.

Define the context

I would like to point out that stereotyped action and automatism is not good or bad - it is neutral. What matters is the context and the outcome. For example, a temperature of 36.7°C (without context) is neutral. In terms of human health, it is good because it is a normal body temperature, but if we want to boil an egg, it is bad because it is too low. It is important to look at functionality in a specific context.
We tend to act according to automatic scripts that have been successful in the past, without taking into account the changed circumstances and the new context, which requires different actions to be functional. Standardised processes are functional when we want to repeat the same action many times quickly and clearly. But if we want a customised process, applying the principles of a standardised process will no longer be functional. Every time circumstances change, it is worth pausing to consider the new context. In that pause, a sense of feeling can suggest a functional solution. By stopping and looking at all phenomena through the prism of different contexts, you will develop your sense of touch.

Use your inner knowing in the flow of information

Neuroscientists[1] have found that the average modern human brain processes an enormous amount of data per day - 74 GB. This includes information from TV, computers, mobile phones, etc. This traffic is said to be increasing by 5 percent every year. Just 500 years ago, a highly educated person would have been able to absorb 74 GB of data in a lifetime.It is impossible to comprehend such a wealth of information directly, let alone check the veracity of each fact or interpretation. This is where the sense of touch can help. The better the professional in his field, the stronger the inner knowing. It is easy for him to sift the wheat from the chaff without getting lost in the flow of information. The more developed your body sense is, the easier it will be to get rid of excess information. Try sometime to follow the bodily sensations that certain articles or broadcasts give you. You may soon realise that you are consuming a lot of meaningless noise.

So, by combining introspection, contextual thinking and body sense, you can get answers of a completely different quality. Sense of touch, integrated with healthy thinking, will lead to unexpected results.
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[1] Heim, Sabine and Keil, Andreas (1 June 2017) Available at: https://rb.gy/kukdz8