Do You Trust Your Instincts?

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Do you trust your instincts?

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Yes, but I can’t fully explain how they work. I don’t always understand where they come from. But again and again, they show up—especially in the places where I seem to be wired to see clearly.

When it comes to ideas or new ventures, something in me recognises them before I can articulate it. A direction will surface, and there’s an inner spark, a kind of creative edge, that tells me, yes, this is a good idea. Even if no one else sees it yet, I do. I don’t wait for affirmation. I’m content to walk forward and let others notice the outcomes in their own time. And often they do. My instincts in these areas feel faithful, dependable, quietly right.

But there are other places where things are cloudy. Reading people’s motives is one of them. I’m naturally inclined toward trust. I believe what people tell me. I take sincerity at face value. And this past year especially, I’ve been lied to more times than I expected. Each time it catches me off guard—not because the signs weren’t there, but because I didn’t see them. I didn’t expect them. My instincts are less reliable in that world.

So I live with this strange mix:
clarity in ideas, uncertainty in motives;
confidence in one kind of knowing, vulnerability in another.

And maybe that’s simply how instincts work. They aren’t perfect. They don’t illuminate everything. But they offer just enough light to take the next step.

So for the moment, I am trying to learn which instincts to trust and which instincts to test.