The questions is….how succinctly do you trust your instinct in that you’re willing to make material life decisions based on your gut? Most people can’t do it. Most people are overwhelmed by others’ expectations. For most, the rational mind applies an oversized attribution of past experience, education, and child rearing to their decision making thereby limiting opportunity.
Then there are some who are irrational risk takers and don’t necessarily lack basic risk / reward assessment capacity but seemingly want to put themselves in danger for the simple sake of a hedonist adrenaline rush.
The profile oriented around life success lies somewhere in the middle but it’s safe to say that the general populous is way too restrictive by not acting on instinct.
Signs that you have difficulty not acting on instinct:
- You still care about what other people think
- You think you “can’t afford it”
- You have always only failed in acting on what you want
- You believe that the past equals the future
- You lack consistent / persistent drive
- You can’t imagine putting your employer / family second in your drive to succeed
- You can’t imagine quitting your job / sacrificing comfort
- You’re highly intelligent (counter intuitive I know)
- You’re not willing to risk a relationship or be bothered by coaching significant other
- You know you lack discipline and feel powerless to change
Technology, the internet, and civil bureaucracies are increasingly imposing themselves on you in such a way that your instinct could be becoming even more repressed. Think very hard about this the next time you sit in the queue of an automated phone attendant or a web based customer service form or a law enforcement agency indifferent to your just concerns. You may be subconsciously affected if you’re not attuned to the artificial influence of society’s tools.
One thing is for certain. If you play it safe and continue to repress your instinct….you can still live a good life but the chance of being enthusiastic and excited by your work every day is less probable.