Strengthening Intuition is an Excellent Entrepreneurial Investment
We've all been told at some point to ‘trust your gut'. But to do that, you need to focus on strengthening intuition.
Sometimes, there are hard logic and concrete numbers to back up the decisions that you make. At other times, you may need to go with something less provable: your intuition.
There are two ways to make progress. You can either wait for all the facts before you make a move, which will often lead you to the right decision. This path, though accurate, is often painfully slow.
Another option is zipping forward with your intuition. Your decisions happen lightning-fast, which means you make mistakes. The choices you make to correct these mistakes happen at warp speed too, though.
The sweet spot is a combination of both.
That's why your gut, especially if your intuition is reliable, will zigzag your business miles ahead of someone who always waits for numbers and logic to line up for them.
Intuition is more than just a trait you're born with, though. Instead, strengthening your intuition is a choice, and it's the best investment for entrepreneurs.
How Intuition Works
Whether you're starting a business or building investment strategies, intuition can give you ideas and insights that no numbers or graphs could provide.
Intuition is defined as the process of perceiving or knowing something without conscious reasoning. It relies on the neuro-psycho-physiological system of the body to work in coherence with the heart.
The heart carries vast intelligence that is not commonly acknowledged, especially in the business world where numbers and statistics rule all. When the heart and mind are in sync, an unobstructed flow of energy and information occurs that we may experience as spontaneous thoughts, knowings, or physical sensations (like stomach clenching).
When you intentionally connect to your intuition, you may find that you have your own, reliable, Q&A guide that exists right within yourself.
The Best Investment For An Entrepreneur
A study conducted by the HeartMath Research Center states that entrepreneurial actions stem from high levels of intuition and creativity.
Both of these things stem from a certain state of mind. The technical term is psychophysiological coherence, which is the result of heart-brain interactions that produce positive feelings.
Aligning an individual's physiological and psychological processes is the quickest way to achieve this state. When your body's processes are aligned, creativity and intuition tend to spike. This is commonly experienced as a flow state.
Intentionally creating flow states, at will, require a deep connection to your intuition. The payoff for an entrepreneur could equate to unique and unconventional ideas that explode their business while utilizing the path of least resistance.
Making Yourself More Intuitive
You can artificially create this state in yourself, in some cases, before making a big decision. Remember the last time you were very angry or very sad?
In our culture, there's the concept of being too angry to think straight. Sometimes, heightened emotions can interfere with lesser functions. When the body is thrown into a high-stakes fight or flight response, creativity is very low on the priority list.
As an entrepreneur, then, managing your mental and emotional state is crucial.
Exercise is a good way to produce dopamine. Staying hydrated, meditating going to therapy, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, spending time in the sun, and engaging in creative hobbies that are enjoyable to you are all crucial ways to artificially produce that relaxed headspace.
Once you feel resourced, contented, and happy, the above study shows that your brain is more likely to produce a stream of creative, intuitive ideas by thinking outside of the box.
Instead of being constrained to a basic recall of patterns, you'll be able to come up with entirely new patterns. This can help you make decisions and go out on an investment limb when others might not.
Checking In With Yourself
A creative, intuitive state of mind is so much more than a happy feeling. It's also tied to your heart rhythm.
When you're upset or stressed—in other words, in an uncreative state due to your emotions—your heart rate is often irregular. It's thumping wildly, trying to keep up with your psychological state.
This reveals a lack of sync between the two divisions of your autonomic nervous system, which stresses your body.
By contrast, when you feel relaxed and content, your heart rate simulates a wave motion. These waves are coherent and smooth.
The heart “the body's most rhythmic oscillator.” As such, it has the power to bring other systems into sync with itself. This includes respiratory, brain, blood pressure, and electrical rhythms that can all be brought into sync with the heart.
What does this mean? When all of your body's systems are playing well together, your cognitive function can spike in both the short- and long-term.
Take Charge of Strengthening Intuition
As a busy entrepreneur, you simply don't have time to wait for your body to play coherently and produce the perfect environment for heart-brain coherence.
Instead, it's something that you can gradually train yourself to achieve. There are a few steps to doing this.
- Heart-focused breathing
- Positive thought replay
- Center your body
You'll need to start with heart-focused breathing. If your environment is noisy, or if you're having trouble focusing, close your eyes. Focus on your heart, and picture your breath flowing from your heart.
To magnify the impact of this exercise, adopt meditational breathing. Inhale through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. Focus on deep, slow, intentional breaths.
Then, think of something positive that someone did for you recently. If this is difficult, the goal is to think of a positive memory. It might be you showing care for someone else, getting a compliment, or a hug from a dear friend.
Once you've selected your memory, try to experience it. Play it through your head and pay attention to the small details. Act as if you're living it through all over again.
Once this is over, recenter your attention on your body. Are you still breathing deeply, in through the nose and out through the mouth? If so, focus on the physical sensations you're experiencing.
How are your feet resting on the floor? Are you feeling warm or cold? If you're laying on a bed, how is your spine pressing into the mattress?
Once you've done this, press your attention outside yourself. What sounds can you hear? What is happening around you?
Centering Yourself
After you've thoroughly explored your environment without moving, with all of your senses, return your attention to your body. After a few deep breaths, open your eyes when you're ready.
This can help prepare you to make high-stakes decisions, or simply as a healthy way of reaction when you can feel your stress reactions spiking.
Being an entrepreneur is a stressful time in your life! You need to make a lot of decisions in a short amount of time, and they need to be the right decisions. This makes it tough on you, which is why you need to take the time to relax properly.
Strengthening Your Intuition
Depending on your personal beliefs and values, there are lots of ways to go about strengthening your intuition. Engaging with a spiritual or mindfulness practice, for instance, is a great way to start.
Taking time away from your business to build your mental health is also crucial. After all, when you get tired is when you're most likely to make mistakes.
Strengthening intuition to make investments and lead your business is a whole-body experience. Eating the right foods, getting enough exercise, and structuring your life so that you can be the healthiest, most creative version of yourself.
If you're an entrepreneur looking to invest in strengthening your intuition, book a call with this company to chat and explore your options.
