Do you ever get that gut feeling that something feels either right or wrong?
Do you follow your gut or is that just too risky for you?
When I’m looking to buy something & once I’ve narrowed it down to a small number of suppliers. I use 2 things to make the final choice. Gut feel backed up by credentials.
First. I seek proof the supplier is good at what they do. Through things like testimonials & case studies or even through a referral from someone who is already using them.
For me. It then comes down to gut feel. Which suppler has the most compelling story. Who’ll provide the best service & who’s my gut pointing at on the trust scale.
And as a supplier ourselves of home & business technology printing solutions. We know a good gut feeling is very important for people to feel confident in doing business with us.
To support this. We pack our website with case studies, testimonials & customer showcase videos to show how we work with clients & the problems that we have helped them solve with our solutions.
And you know what…
It turns out there really is a thing as a ‘gut feeling’ or Intuitions, as covered in an paper published in Psychology & led by Florida State University.
Essentially. It’s messages between the gut & the brain alerting us to potential dangers via the vast & expansive communication network that runs along the vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve is a sprawling two-way network that’s 100 times larger than the surface of the skin and sends more signals to the brain than any other organ system in the body.
The research paper claims that gut-to-brain signals are a “powerful influence on emotions, mood and decisions” and are often a response to worrisome or threatening situations and events.
According to Florida State neuroscientist Dr Linda Rinaman, the gut and brain are constantly communicating via the vagus nerve.
The nerve carries messages from the brain to the body & bottom-up messages commonly described as “gut feelings”. It’s these that prompt us to evaluate a situation, go with it or avoid it altogether.
James Maniscalco, at the University of Illinois at Chicago & Rinaman suggest that these signals from our gastrointestinal tract can work as a red flag & stop us making bad or dangerous decisions.
“The neuroscience of gut feelings has come a long way & we are learning more valuable lessons every day. Vagal feedback signals are very protective and encourage caution.” Said Rinaman.
Next time you’re in a situation where your spider senses start tingling (butterflies in your stomach). That’s your gut & brain sending signals to each to work out whether it’s safe or dangerous.
One thing to remember. It’s both the brain & the gut working together. And if the brain sees things which provide reassurance, it’s a safe gut feel signal it’ll send to your gut.
So, in my case. If I’m checking out potential suppliers. And I see lots of testimonials, case studies & customer videos on their website. Which show how they have helped other clients solve problems.
My brain will send a safe gut feeling message to my gut & if everything else is in the right ballpark. Like price, delivery timescales & guarantees. I’m more than likely to buy from them.
When we listen to the evolutionary communication tools that our body naturally provides us with, we tune into our instincts, which enables us to make wise informed decisions.
Can you afford not to listen to your gut feeling?
