Relying on our gut instinct is something many of us find difficult, you know, that instinctive feeling that we should or sometimes more importantly, shouldn’t, put ourselves in to a situation that may prove challenging in the extreme!
Now, it may come as a surprise, but with Lone Workers making up approximately 22% of the working population in the U.K, relying on gut instinct is often our first line of defence, it’s our in-built protection mechanism that can prove to be the difference between maintaining, or compromising, our personal safety.
So, what do we know about relying on gut instinct?
And how can we learn to take advantage of our own intuition?
Well, here at First2HelpYou, we thought we would shine a bit of a spotlight on the whole thing, so if you want to know more about relying on your gut instinct, read on!
What the Neuroscientists say about gut instinct
Essentially, that primitive intuitive feeling that goes on within our cognitive processing is a way of information processing, that is unique to our own experiences and thought.
Our brains are constantly taking in information from the experiences we have, storing it, and reviewing it to form predictions and comparisons within our subconscious, which we then use in our current situations.
And rather than ignoring it or pushing it to the side as unfounded nonsense, it is an important personal tool that we should acknowledge and not be afraid to rely on in a situation that we may feel could turn harmful!
And neuroscientists readily accept that this kind of thinking is fast, automatic, and inbuilt in to our psychological make-up, so fast thinking and relying on our gut instinct can often get us out of danger when we need it to!
Lone Worker Advice on Gut Instinct
So, how can this information, which acknowledges relying on gut instinct is no bad thing, help Lone Workers?
Well imagine you work in health and social care for example, and you find yourself in a situation where you are alone with a client in their own home and you feel the atmosphere is becoming difficult or tense, your intuitive feeling is to cut the visit short and get out, but you are torn between completing your task.
Trust your instinct, be polite and get out. It’s that simple.
Or you could work alone at night in a garage or an off licence and get a bad feeling about somebody coming in to the premises, don’t be afraid to call your escalation contactat this point for back-up, it’s what they are there for!
And it’s worth remembering that no matter what personal safety devices you have with you, completing a task whilst compromising your own safety is not a good idea, and employers will certainly recognise this fact.
They would much rather have you safe than be in any way sorry!
Putting your own safety first has to be paramount, and the instinctive feeling of danger is hard wired, so use it, don’t push it to the back of your mind!
How to Improve Relying on Your Gut Instinct
There are ways in which you can improve your gut instinct and ‘train your brain’ so to speak to recognise warning signs that you may not have acknowledged previously.
Start by accepting that this is your own way of thinking and that is okay! Your gut instinct, or ‘hunches’ comes from years of your own personal experiences, so it’s okay to rely on them if you are not happy with a situation.
Chances are you’ve experienced something similar before and you weren’t happy then, so don’t be happy to accept it now. Your intuition is usually correct.
Learn to reflect. This is a good way of going over past experiences and improving on the present circumstance you find yourself in. There is nothing better than insight taken from previous situations to get you out of a current challenging one!
Remember it’s okay to trust your heart over your head. Using our heads to analyse and be rational in situations is fine, but as we’ve already acknowledged, your instinct is a faster response and trying to rationalise a situation where you might otherwise be in danger could lead to tragic consequences, so trust your heart, that innate feeling that something isn’t quite right.
Talk to your boss about any situations you are unhappy with. Chances are they will be very understanding and put improved safety measures in place. And if they are not, your gut instinct should be telling you to find another boss!
Contact Us
So, if you are a Lone Worker or you know somebody who often works alone and during unsociable hours for example, you can contact us here, or call us TODAY on 0333 772 9401 to discuss any aspect of personal safety and how to rely on your gut instinct.
We also have a range of products and services available offering protection for those whose role involves Loneworking, so talk to us today to improve your personal safety.
Our team of experts have years of experience within the lone working safety sector, and we fully understand that it’s often difficult to consider your own safety when you are worried about paying the bills and your boss might not understand your concerns. Our advice is definitely relying on your gut instinct and ask them to talk about your welfare and protection!
