It’s Good Enough for Thomas Edison;
Why Not Me?

… Thomas Edison would sit in a chair holding a ball in each hand while he would proceed to daydream. When he was about to fall asleep, the balls would drop on the floor, waking him up. Immediately, he would jot down what he was dreaming. This is where his inventive ideas and solutions were found.

… “I don’t know how, I’ve just been working from the ‘seat of my pants’ and that’s how I started this company. I felt alive and it worked!”

… You are burned out after working long on a project and feel stuck. You give up and go home for the day. The next day in the shower, bingo! Just the right idea hits you. Your project is back on track, or better yet, on a different track.

What are the common threads throughout the above scenarios? The use of intuition. They all took place out of the rational, prove-it-to-me mind, and somewhere deep inside there was an intention (not a final result) that guided the creative process. The home of creativity is housed in the non-rational mind. Intuition is how this part of the mind talks to us.

When people use their creativity, they feel purposeful and empowered. One result is high morale. It’s available to everyone. What may distinguish one company from another are its people, with their unique ideas and solutions.

So, why is intuition not acknowledged in our work environment?

The first reason is that our logical mind does not believe or understand intuition. You can’t measure, prove, or hold it, which is what our logic demands. Our logical mind helps us understand the past so we can prepare for the future. That is its job. However, intuition is found in the present, with no past or future to influence it, so creativity and answers have no limits. The logical mind and intuition use different time zones. Intuition is always available in the present. Once the intuitive idea is recognized, then the logical mind uses its experience to evaluate and put the idea into action. It’s a great team!

The second reason is that one might not understand intuition. It is the world behind your eyes, the knowledge you were born with, and the flow of inspiration. Why not use it? Intuition surfaces when you have a positive intention. This inner knowing answers you, but not in the rational mind. It shows up in flash answers, dreams, daydreams, coincidences, meditations, emotional and physical feelings, gut hunches, journaling, nature walks, picking up just-the-right book, just-the-right person showing up, etc. It’s always present and devoid of past or future worries, and is therefore fearless.

Fear of being responsible for your idea is another reason we ignore intuition. It is personal and reflects your talents and passions. Since intuition is in the present, it doesn’t show us how our ideas will turn out, so we don’t trust it. Now we are doubly afraid to act on our idea. However, intuition will offer answers along the way, as well as work with others; this is where trust fits. Plus, how boring would it be to skip to the end of the movie and miss the adventure?

One of the biggest reasons we don’t use intuition: “Intuition is that woman thing!” Ok, if you think only women have inner knowing, creativity, and hunches, then your intuition is definitely blocked. Enough said.

We seldom use intuition in the workplace because we don’t know how to talk about it or use it. Imagine a man working in the warehouse who has a crazy dream on how to improve delivery. This man knows his job intimately, and day by day, he gets more excited as he sees the solution coming together, perhaps there is just one piece he can’t figure out. But if his dream was encouraged and acted on, it would allow others to come forth with the missing piece … synchronicity. The problem is: how could he approach the hierarchical ladder about this crazy dream? Chances are he couldn’t! But he could if he knew that this type of creative problem-solving was respected and that Thomas Edison did it!

Think of intuition as the salt and pepper added to our tried-and-true recipes. Beyond our five senses, we have this inner knowledge that works for us every day. We are amazingly multi-dimensional; it’s time to put the salt and pepper on the table … at work and at home!