Gut instinct: How to actually master your intuition

We’ve all been told to “trust our gut.” But how do you know when intuition is steering you right — or leading you astray? In this episode, host Brett Hendrie explores the science and strategy behind gut feelings with Laura Huang, professor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University. She explains why our gut is always right, how we can train ourselves to listen to what it’s telling us, and how to turn that intuiting process into a real decision-making tool — not just a hunch.

Show notes: 

[0:00] Brett Hendrie reflects on what it means to really listen to your gut. 

[1:19] Meet Laura Huang, professor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University, and author of You Already Know: The Science of Mastering Your Intuition. 

[2:15] What is our gut instinct and how does it differ from intuition?

[5:03] Why is it important to disentangle our intuition from our emotions? (Hint: give yourself time.)

[6:59] There are four types of decisions we need to make — simple, complicated, complex and chaotic — and we should really only use our gut for the latter two. 

[9:24] Your gut never lies. It’s 100% accurate. Why? Because it’s more like a compass than a right/wrong switch. 

[11:34] Our gut and intuiting process — like most things in life — aren’t linear. They pull data points from across our lives. 

[13:12] The three types of gut reactions: Eureka, Aha and Uh-Ohs.

[15:55] To train yourself to trust your gut, start by identifying what type of reaction you’re having. (What is your body actually telling you?) 

[16:19] Training tip: Consider the rule of three (meet someone in three different settings) to test your gut. 

[19:09] Become an “expert novice.” Think brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Try that, but with a job task. 

[21:39] What’s collective intuition? 

[22:02] Your gut is like a whisper trying to break through the noise around you. “And so we kind of shove that aside, and the more we shove that aside, the more the whispers are buried in this sea of screams, and so I would say, listen to what whispers and not what screams. And the more we do that, the more we'll be able to master our intuition.”

If you enjoyed this episode, why not give some of our back catalogue a listen? To stay on theme, check out our conversations with Richard Davis on mastering your ability to judge people, or Nuala Walsh on tuning out the wrong type of information when making decisions.

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