Trust your gut?

We’ve all heard it: “Trust your gut.”

It’s advice that carries weight. It suggests experience, confidence, and instinct. The kind of knowing that doesn’t need to be explained. And in many moments, our gut reactions do serve us well. They help us make quick decisions, avoid danger, or recognise when something just feels off.

But when uncertainty enters the picture - when stakes are high, options are unclear, or outcomes unpredictable - our intuition does not always guide us wisely. In fact, it can mislead us.

So how do we know when to listen to our intuition, and when to pause and question it?

The Trouble With Intuition in Uncertainty

Intuition is a powerful force, but it is not infallible. It is shaped by what we have learned, and just as often, by what we fear.

In uncertain situations, our brains are wired to seek control and clarity. This makes us more prone to mental shortcuts and snap judgments. What we call intuition might actually be a stress response, a bias, or a way to avoid discomfort.

For example, you might:

• Say no to a new opportunity because it feels too risky, when in fact it is just unfamiliar

• Reject a colleague’s suggestion because it challenges your usual way of thinking

• Make a quick decision just to get rid of the tension of not knowing

In these moments, it is easy to mistake a protective reflex for insight.

Ignoring Your Intuition Can Also Be a Mistake

On the flip side, dismissing your gut instinct entirely is not necessarily the answer.

That quiet inner sense of knowing — that something feels right, even if you cannot explain it — is often grounded in deep, accumulated experience.

Psychologists describe intuition as a form of pattern recognition. Your brain, through years of practice, has learned to pick up subtle cues and make sense of situations without conscious effort. It is the manager who senses tension in a team before it is spoken, or the leader who instinctively knows when to change direction.

Intuition is not magic. It is your brain doing its fastest and quietest work.

So the real challenge is not whether or not to trust your gut. It is learning to recognise when your intuition is drawing on wisdom, and when it is being driven by fear, stress, or assumption.

How to Tell the Difference

When you are facing uncertainty, try asking yourself:

• What is the quality of this feeling? Does it feel calm and clear, or panicky and urgent? Helpful intuition is often quiet and steady, not reactive or emotional.

• Is this helping me avoid discomfort, or move towards what matters? Am I being pulled towards clarity, or pushed away from the unknown?

• What is this based on? Even if the decision is instinctive, can I spot any clues or experiences that might be shaping it?

• If I take a few minutes to pause, will I still feel the same? Giving your nervous system time to settle can reveal the difference between a gut reaction and a grounded instinct.

• Does this fit with my values and long-term goals? Fear tends to speak to the short-term. Wisdom often looks further ahead.

These questions are not about overthinking. They are about becoming more discerning. That ability to respond with clarity, not just react out of habit.

Learning to Trust the Right Signals

In my coaching and workshops, this is often one of the most helpful shifts. Realising that intuition can be both insightful and unreliable. And learning to tell the difference.

When people learn to slow down, notice what is going on beneath the surface, and question the source of their instinct, they start making better decisions. They become more confident. Not because they always know the answer, but because they are listening more wisely - to themselves and to the context around them.

If this resonates, and you or your team are navigating ambiguity, I offer coaching and workshops to help people find clarity and confidence in times of uncertainty.

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