Have you ever experienced a situation when something just felt ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, and you could not explain why?
Or a feeling of sometimes having ‘butterflies’ in the stomach in some specific situations?
You might have heard about gut instinct, more popularly known as gut ‘feelings’, associated with similar situations, correct? It always existed, but now more than ever, it seems more people are paying closer attention to it, especially when it comes to decision-making!
The overload of information nowadays and the intense pressure to make the right decisions contribute to delaying our decision-making: unfortunately, most of us often procrastinate it.
On the other hand, in highly uncertain times, even further data gathering and analysis do not fully ensure the success of all our decisions.
A recent study* found that managers who use their gut instinct and simple decision-making strategies may make equally good, but faster decisions than those who use data to reach an outcome.
Gut instinct can inspire us to a call to action, particularly when all the logical decision-making options fail.
What, then, would be the biological explanation for that?
Let’s start with the neurons! They are responsible for conducting the nervous system’s electrical signals. Due to an extensive network of them in our gut, this has been considered by many scientists as our second brain.
Our gut is also the body’s largest reservoir of bacteria, which play a crucial role in the neuronal activity in our brain once both organs are linked through the Gut-Brain Axis or GBA.
That’s why when under stress, one may suffer from digestive disorders like diarrhea, once stress can affect the delicate balance of our intestinal microbiota, the set of microorganisms that live in our gut and play a vital role in its functioning.
The GBA, broadly defined, consists of bidirectional communication between the central and the enteric nervous system, linking the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions.
One of these brain regions is the prefrontal cortex, traditionally considered the critical neural structure in decision-making. It is like a control center, helping to guide our actions, besides being responsible for emotion regulation.
That’s why the better we manage – not control, as we cannot – our emotions, the better we make decisions.
Nevertheless, to take the most of it, you need to stay more in contact with yourself and increase your self-awareness! Otherwise, the signals will keep coming, but you still will not be able to read them.
Consider starting to be more attentive to your gut instinct, mindfulness can help you with it. If you need further help to develop the accuracy of it and then make better decisions, schedule an initial call with me free of charge; click now on this link!
//
About me: I’m a High-Performance Coach who uses a Neuroscience-based method to support you in Achieve More with Mental Well-Being.
