Intuition or Impulse?

Would you describe yourself as impulsive?

How does that word land for you?

At first glance, my response would be no.

But upon a bit of study, I have formulated a hypothesis that most of us are incredibly impulsive.

Before we launch too far into reaction or defense from this claim, what if I offered you a gentle invitation?

N O T I C E 

the 

impulse. 

Don’t do anything. 

Just pause. 

Notice. 

.

.

.

Perhaps it might be helpful to explore when impulses arise?

Here are a few ideas to get your brain gears turning:

• Grocery shopping, in your kitchen, in front of your fridge or cupboards

• Asking favors of your partner, parents, or coworkers 

• Spending money

• Sending emails or making phone calls while you’re in reaction

• Leaving a situation that makes you uncomfortable

• Saying yes to something you’re hesitant about

We could go on, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll stop there and bring us back to the invitation.

The invitation is to notice. 

Notice the impulse.

Have you ever sent an email or a letter, or made a phone call, that you later regretted?

Have you ever said something to another person that later brought you guilt or shame?

Have you ever bought something that you soon afterward realized was a waste of money?

Have you ever agreed to something, or passed on an opportunity, that you later beat yourself up over?

Welcome to the land of impulse!

What might happen in your life if you began to insert small pauses right after feeling an impulse?

Three to five breaths. 

A few moments of simply acknowledging what is happening in your body and psyche. 

“Ah,'' you might say to yourself, “an impulse! There it is.” 

Smile. 

Celebrate this tiny but mighty win that you have caught yourself in the act.

Call it out for what it is.

Then wait. 

And with this spaciousness, this subtle but potent moment of pausing…

Intuition has room to enter. 

And you, my friend, suddenly have time to ponder whether the nudge you just felt is an impulse, or your intuition.

My intuition has never led me in the wrong direction. 

I cannot say the same for my impulses!

How about you?

There is a difference between intuition and impulse. 

Intuition lives in the gut. It is our primal sense, our animal body, and our deepest, wisest knowing. 

Impulse lives in the mind. It is our fast-acting, scarcely-thinking state of reaction.

Both are valuable.

But I have not yet been able to think of an instance when intuition has not served me and the world in a positive way. 

Impulse, on the other hand, has given me a laundry list of moments I wish I could take back from the pages of time...

Impulse is handy if there is a hard or sharp object flying at you. It seems that the physical realm and our physical safety is where impulse is most useful.

But when it comes to reacting, to taking action in our lives based on the circumstances we find ourselves confronted with, I’ve found impulse to be a slippery ledge. And it actually feels like that!

One moment, all is well... 

The next moment, I feel a nearly irresistible urge to act, and that action (more often than not) leads me to make rather questionable decisions. 

Why? 

Because though an impulse comes from the mind, it is not logical— it is based on emotion and desire, and biologically exists to instigate a reaction. 

It usually begins with a thought... 

… maybe “I need/want that!” or “I don’t want to be here” or “I’m so pissed off right now”... 

and that thought swiftly becomes an action. And the trend I have noticed is that those actions generally are not in my best interest, or the best interest of the world at large.

Furthermore, those actions often become the source of either shame or guilt (or both).

(Side note: If you haven’t read my last article on the invitation to pause, and Notice the Impulse, I recommend heading over to my blog and diving in asap.)

So what to do with this information? And how can it help you live a healthier, happier life?

First, as we discussed last time, the initial step is to notice the feeling as it arises.

Notice. Get curious. Step into a place of wonder. 

What is this sense that I must do? Where is it coming from? What is underneath it?

See if you can make the distinction between your intuitive voice, and your impulsive voice.

Then identify which voice is currently taking up the airwaves in your ears.

If you are able to call out the impulse for what it is, then you’ve just given yourself an out. 

Or, at the very least, an opportunity to think about the repercussions of the action you’re about to take. 

A great test for an impulse is: 

Can it wait? 

What if i waited 10 minutes, or until tomorrow, or spoke to my best friend about it first?

If you ultimately determine that this is your intuition speaking, trust it. 

And know that very few things in this life are SO pressing that we must decide in this moment. Often, it is the stories we make up about the need to decide that create the tension, more so than the decision itself. 

A great test for intuition is:

Tune into your literal gut. 

Do you feel butterflies or a slight churning in your stomach? 

Do you feel nervous, excited or inspired?

Our intuition is often subtle, like an owl feather swept gently across your brow…

Our impulse is usually not so subtle, like an enthusiastic misplaced soccer ball to the gut.

You get the idea!

What is your process around impulse vs intuition

Are you loving this game?

Are you hating it? 

Do you have further ideas to share with me?

Please DO! I’d love to hear your thoughts, feelings and feedback on this.

My she-ro Brené Brown says that experiencing guilt or shame or painful moments in our lives is like lying face-down in the arena. It’s the lowest of the low. 

But, she says that if we can pause while we’re down there and take a look around, we’ll find an entirely new perspective that we’ve never taken in before! 

And, we’ll also see all the other people who are on the arena floor with us. 

And lastly (I love this so much), she says that she is ONLY interested in the criticism and feedback of others who are willing to be in the arena with her. 

For all the spectators hucking rotten tomatoes from the safety of the grandstands, we just don’t have time.

Wishing your intuition a fruitful harvest season,