Someone made the comment that the notion of intuition is more likely to appeal to women than men because women are more intuitive by nature. Men, on the other hand, rely more on logic than feelings. I thought about this, and while I know plenty of men (and women) who feel more comfortable dealing with facts and reasoning, I wondered if this person wasn’t getting more caught up in the language and missing the bigger picture.
I don’t agree that women are more intuitive than men. While the phrase ‘women’s intuition’ implies that women have this special ability to know things, I’ve heard many men describe some of their choices as being gut decisions. In fact, when I looked up intuition in a thesaurus, I found several words that people use regularly that describe intuition, some of which seem to be more acceptable to logical folks than others.
Instinct, inspiration, hunch, perception and discernment are just some of the words that describe intuitive moments – when one goes beyond logic to assess a situation. Some people feel more comfortable crediting their intuitive decision-making to a hunch, or saying they’d been inspired to turn left when everyone else was going right. Others say they were following their heart rather than their head – another way to express the notion of being inwardly guided, rather than depending on external logic.
Intuitive Action Item: If the word ‘intuition’ conjures up the notion of a special power that certain people have (or don’t have), or if it makes you feel uncomfortable, that may be blocking you from trusting some of your decisions that aren’t based on logic. Replace that word with a word or phrase that may be a little less loaded for you whether it be instinct or even divine intervention. Whatever you call those moments, don’t let the words stop you from acknowledging the experience of marching to the beat of your own drum.
When I use my intution, I prefer to tell people I followed my instincts, especially at work. Good instincts are a prized commodity, but the word intuition sometimes makes people question your decisions.