Do you trust your instincts?

My first thought when I saw this prompt was to answer yes: I follow my instincts all the time. I feel like my work day is full of this dynamic: I have a feeling, then I act on it and make the right call. I have a conversation with a patient, and then am able to figure out their issue before they even reveal it. I see a patient, suggest we call 911 and get them to the ER, and they have a life altering acute illness on the way. I bought Apple stock long ago, and was able to pay off my student loans with the profit. I lost my way in the wilderness, then took the trail to the right and made it back home.

On further thought, though, this is not instinct. In my medical practice, I make judgment calls based on thirty years of experience and study. Sometimes it looks like I am following some 6th sense, but in reality everything I do is based on something else. I never actually make a decision based solely on my instinct which implies some kind of genetically woven gift that leads the way. I studied the Apple company long before I bought the stock, and made a careful decision. I studied the topographical map and tried to memorize it before going on a hike into the wild. My dog follows her instincts: there’s a rabbit and I am going to chase no matter what. Luckily, I had a nice leash that was able to keep her back from running into the busy street. Her instincts worked great 10,000 years ago, when wild dogs ran in packs and hunted together so they could survive. Now those instincts lead to sore muscles in my arm as I have to reign her in from the inclination to do something that could lead to her demise. My actual instincts are not that helpful either: fill my belly every time there is extra food! Buy another lotto ticket! Watch just one more episode on Netflix. Bad instincts, bad habits and poor decision making derail so many of our best intentions.

Our instincts are just easy chemical and electrical pathways in our bodies. The path of least resistance. They were tried and true trails to save us from starvation, dangerous procrastination, and not paying attention to the right thing at the right time long ago. Humans developed these traits in a different time: when food was scarce, our families were constantly dying off from violent accidents and predators, and our focus on stimuli kept us learning and growing. In our modern world, we eat when we don’t need to, we develop addictions based on stimuli that has nothing to do with safety or survival, and we actual hurt ourselves and our families. Think through the habits and inclinations you have that are on the New Year’s resolution list: lose weight, stop smoking, dry January, and less social media. Bad instincts that we do not want to follow anymore.

People profit nowadays from our instincts. Fast food, pornography, visual media, fashion, real estate, tobacco, alcohol, and many other industries have developed massive scientifically based ways to manipulate human beings and their instincts to binge on a product, and pour money in a certain direction. The social media algorithms that put certain ads in your feed are sophisticated and bent on manipulating you, and begging you to create a habit that can be exploited. How about your vote? Even the political world has put to use this tool kit. Just like other mammals, we are instinctually tribal and form groups to gather and protect our people and kind from danger. The extremists capitalize on these base behaviors to drive us apart, and put them in power. Instincts rob us of our resources, and trade power for pleasure.

How do we deal with our bad habits? I think this is a topic to think about deeply. I am certainly no expert, but I would recommend a great book to read:

Atomic Habits, by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

This book offers clear and easy to follow steps to move beyond bad habits and create good ones.

After reflection, I am no fan of my instincts and do not trust them. What separates us as a human race from other life forms on our planet is our ability to reason, troubleshoot, and come together to overcome our instincts and take a different path. Then we can move forward with courage, intelligence, love, empathy, and mutual respect to a better world.