Instinct in a World of Analytics!

By- Aditi Maheshwari

As technology and artificial intelligence advances decisions are more data driven and based on facts. It is true that data and analytics help us take calculated risk, measure success to some extent, guide our decisions, etc. but complete reliance on data and analytics kills our curiosity, diminishes our adventurous streak, makes us more robotic than human. Our first impressions are created by our past experiences and our environment, which develops in us a fear-based energy, limiting us in our ability to tap into our intuition. There is great potential in intuition. We all have intuitive powers within us but only few are able to use it, simply because you won’t always get visible evidence to your intuition, it won’t always make sense or look and feel logical, but nonetheless if you go with your intuition, it proves to be your best choice. You’ll intuitively get to know whether you are being valued or devalued. Intuitive perception requires you to silence your thoughts, forget all your personal cares and desires, until nothing remains but awe for the miracle before you. These efforts put you on a journey beyond the narrow self-love and although the process is not always comfortable and is slowly progressive, yet its rewards are noticeable and extremely satisfying.

Leveraging on the skills of human instincts and human reasoning in problem solving, critical thinking and imagination is a divine gift that needs to be nurtured. Operating on the basis of intuition is an unconventional pattern of working. A sudden flash of insight is the highest form of intelligence. However, it requires faith to listen to and follow the whisper of your sacred inner voice, which is pure and unaffected from all external influences. Fear goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unnerving ease. Fear is a stubbornness of not accepting change for the better, simply because you are too comfortable in your prejudice and your non-acceptance of truth.

When we ignore our instincts, we start resorting to conservative approaches. We tend to avoid taking risks, we become more focused on what already happened or took place (history) rather than what can happen (potential of the unknown). We start losing the perspective of exploration and adventure. Being too loyal and fixated to already existing ideas which thereby robs us of the potential to create new ideas.

We know some successful people who didn’t score well in tests or academics. Such individuals followed their heart and did something they were truly passionate about. They educated and trained themselves to achieve their goals without being certified by degrees and diplomas (analytical data). Examples: - Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Charles Darwin, Walt Disney, etc. This proves that you don’t always need to depend on one way of working. There are many elements of education that can’t be measured in an infographic. Had The Wright brothers, completely depended on data and analytics they would never have invented, built, and flew the world$s first successful motor-operated airplane.

So, the question arises; how do you measure potential? Potential Analysis can give a glimpse of the positive and negative attributes of an individual, but it can’t truly show whether an individual will be or not be successful. Can analytics enable you to calculate the elements like confidence, resilience, risk taking abilities in the face of failures, consistency when it gets truly difficult, emotional intelligence, etc. of everyone out there. Is too much dependency killing our creativity and imagination?

As Maya Angelou said, “You may not remember what your teachers taught you, but you’ll always remember how they made you feel.”

“Feelings”, they are there for a reason. When we don’t consider peoples feelings, we are neglecting the core principle of humanity. Nobody wants to work with someone who is focused merely on numbers with no interest or consideration of people’s feelings. Remember, there will always be someone better than you but that does not make you inferior in any way, but what sets you apart is how authentically you live. When we follow our intuition, we honour our core selves. Take back your power by following your intuition and live your best life. When you expose yourself to your deepest fear, you can see the truth clearly but if you continue to ignore or deny its existence, it will only shrink your freedom to honour your real self. Be brave to listen to that sacred voice and see the magic happen. The fear of being hurt or caught out or being humiliated blinds us from the vision of a bright future. You need to be bold enough to invest in your intuition and act outwardly on what you hear inwardly. So, the best interplay is to trust your instincts but also study the associated data, so that you can make a proper case to win over. Keep in mind, we are dealing with humans and not machines and if people don’t feel free to function in their natural operating mode, unique to everyone, they will not be performing their best. Give a fair chance to individuals willing to work, that’s how you can see what they are capable of. Also, not everyone is suited for every job, but each individual is gifted uniquely and can be put to work accordingly.