Image Credit: Jarvis Consultants, LLC - photo of art at the Kimpton Nine Zero Hotel, Boston, MA
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “Instinct” as ‘a natural or inherent aptitude, impulse, or capacity’. We all have instincts. When something comes up and you have that inherent aptitude telling you to do something, do you follow it? Or, do you talk yourself out of it?
Many of us have been in situations where rationally and intellectually, it makes sense to do “A”, but instinctively something is pulling us to do “B”. It’s a gut feeling; not rational, not intellectual but an emotional feeling gnawing at you. For me, it hits me in my stomach, I can feel it; it’s a visceral reaction. I have always had, as I put it God-given discernment (and I’m not bragging), but I can inherently feel out a situation. Of course, nothing is perfect, but I learned through mistakes. Particularly, early on in my life, I didn’t listen to that feeling much. I wasn’t mature enough to be in tune with my body; and, literally feeling something in the pit of my stomach didn’t sway me to do the opposite of what I had decided. I evaluated my response of intellectual versus instincts. If I could do a mulligan I would go with my instinct every time. I know, it doesn’t make sense, but my instincts are usually dead-on regardless of what rational arguments and information are presented.
A recent article in Forbes captured the story of Sara Blakely, the creator and founder of SPANX, where it described how her intuition led her to growing and then ultimately selling the majority shares in her billion dollar enterprise. Forbes specifically states that: “Nearly a decade later, Blakely credits her strong sense of intuition for the timing of the sale to Blackstone”. “I have run this business, I've run my life, very, very connected to intuition, which we all have. It's an inner knowing,” she told Moira Forbes. “I just always said, I'll just know, I'll know when it's the right time for the business. I'll know when it's the right time for me.”
I’m married to an attorney, and he likes facts. Do not get me wrong, facts are important in making decisions; I’m a marketer and data points, analysis and facts are important, but they don’t always tell the full story. Over the years, I have often used that same line that Sara Blakely was quoted in the Forbes article, on my husband when we are making decisions – I just know – the facts aren’t saying it – the reasoning isn’t saying it and neither is the intelligence; but, there is something just deep down within me urging me on to choose the opposite of what the facts, reasoning and intelligence are telling us.
As we approach and welcome in a new year, embrace your intuition into your decision-making process; whether it’s a big decision or a small one; a personal decision or a business decision; perhaps follow that inner voice of your gut feeling and see where it leads you.
Cheers to a Happy New Year!
Sonya Ruff Jarvis is an entrepreneur and founder of Jarvis Consultants, LLC, a marketing, events and branding firm that helps businesses create innovative approaches to navigate the world of marketing. Sonya has been a part of the B2B retail industry for more than 25 years and is the founder of the Home Improvement eRetailer Summit. Follow Sonya on Twitter @jarvisconsult and @eretailersummit or contact her directly at sonya@jarvisconsultants.com. She is also a book author and her books can be found on AMAZON.