HOLISTIC - INSTINCT OR INTUITION?

Earlier this month, on a quiet Tuesday morning, my wife asked if I’d like to join her and our son for a walk around Warana. I almost said yes. Instead, I stayed behind. Work had my attention, my phone had my focus, and despite a quiet voice telling me I should go, I ignored it. Normally, either our dog, I, or both of us are with her.

A short time later, my phone rang.

While filming a video for JMT, a man approached her. Something about him immediately didn’t feel right. Within moments he spoke to her, grabbed the front of our son’s pram and positioned himself between them. Thankfully, the encounter ended as quickly as it began. He walked away, and my wife was able to call me and the authorities. Neither she nor our son were physically harmed, but they were understandably shaken.

As a husband and father, it’s confronting to think something like this can happen on a busy Sunshine Coast street in the middle of the morning. After the initial rush of emotion, my mind shifted from protection to reflection. It made me think about the difference between instinct and intuition.

Instinct is our inherited survival system. It’s the part of us shaped over thousands of generations, constantly scanning our environment for signs of safety and danger. Intuition, however, may be something different. It may be the brain’s incredible ability to recognise subtle patterns, tiny behavioural cues and past experiences before our conscious mind can explain them. 

What we call a “gut feeling” is often our subconscious joining dots that our conscious mind hasn’t caught up with yet.

Perhaps our wisest decisions occur when these two systems work together. 

Instinct protects us.
Intuition guides us. The challenge is learning to separate genuine intuitive awareness from fear, anxiety or emotion.

This experience reminded me of something I already knew but clearly needed to hear again: trust those quiet internal whispers. It also reminded me how easily modern life pulls us away from awareness. Work, phones, deadlines and endless distractions can disconnect us from the present moment and from the people who matter most.

Have you ever ignored a feeling you couldn’t explain, only to realise later it was trying to tell you something important?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

If you’re interested in this topic, the work of Gary Klein, Daniel Kahneman and Antonio Damasio offer fascinating insights into decision-making, intuition and human awareness.