After the meeting,
Arielle had a sick feeling. She somehow knew that
working with this man would be a nightmare. She
canceled the deal, and others later validated her
intuitive assessment – he really was a pain to
work with.
Many people literally get intuitive input from
their gut or stomach. Writer Ray Bradbury said we
can stay well if we pay more attention to our
stomachs. The late J. Peter Grace, chairman of W R.
Grace & Company, said simply that intuition
"is what your stomach tells you." For
Bradbury, Grace, and many other people, the
"gut feeling" -- which emanates from the
stomach or solar plexus -- acts as an intuitive
barometer.
The late Brandon Tartikoff, whose genius at
television programming is legendary, was called the
"man with the golden gut" because of his
unerring ability to pick successful shows. Since
executives in the entertainment field are immersed
in a fast-moving and ever-changing industry, it is
not surprising that people who rise to the top are
highly intuitive. That is the only way they can
survive.
Daniel Goleman's work on emotional intelligence
indicates that emotional skills like self-awareness,
empathy, motivation, and paying attention to gut
feelings will contribute more to your well-being and
success than your intellect or technical expertise.
An integral part of emotional intelligence is
knowing what you're feeling -- which includes
noticing your gut feelings or intuition about
important life decisions.
After a decade of research, Goleman has isolated
a large class of neurotransmitters, or brain
chemicals called peptides, which were first
discovered in the gut. He says, "They're
identical mates to brain-cell receptors, and that
means that what's working in large parts of the
brain is also active in the gut, and the central
nervous system is wiring the two together. So it's
not really a surprise that gut feeling should be a
way you get "messages."
Begin now to become aware of your body's
messages. Notice, for example, when your stomach
feels tight or heavy, your lower back hurts, your
knee feels locked in place and can't move, or your
gums ache. Ask yourself what's going on at that
moment or in your life. Are you facing an unsettling
decision at work, in relationships, in your personal
life?
Begin to connect these bodily sensations to
messages from your mind, heart, or soul. This is
called making the mind-body connection. Sometimes
they send messages in the form of puns, as dreams
often do. If my neck abruptly begins to ache, for
example, I ask myself, "Who's the pain in my
neck annoying me right now?"
Start noting these instances in a journal to keep
track of the correlation between these body
bulletins and what's happening in your life. As you
begin to become aware, you'll probably notice that
you respond more quickly and appropriately.
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