Internal and External Reference Points for Learning and Change

Each of us works with our own experience and thought in unique ways, though like noses, while each is different, there are many similarities.  Inductive and deductive reasoning serve to illustrate the point.  Deductive reasoning starts with something that exists and uses logic to break it down to its components.  Many mystery stories rely on deductive reasoning to solve the crimes.  Inductive reasoning starts with intuition and builds rather than breaking things down.  The connections need to be validated and inferences need to be checked out.

Some of us rely on external reference points to guide us.  We make the opinions of others a key factor in our own decisions and responses.  Others rely on internal reference points, "marching to the tune of our own drummer."

In the end, each of us is responsible for ourselves.  While we can make use of mirrors and feedback, we still need to make our own choices and deal with the consequences of these choices.

"Yellow Blinking Lights"--Leveraging Experience-Guided Intuition--Gestalt

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book, Blink:  The Power of Thinking without Thinking, is talking about a process tied to the concept of gestalt--in essence, with the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.  The concept of holistic thinking connects with this idea.

In practice, after we have learned from our experiences over time, we can make intuitive connections when we observe something in the world that are tied to our learning in ways we may no longer be conscious of.  We know something without being able to explain the details of why we know what we know.

As I am exploring potential business opportunities, I can frequently intuit whether or not the opportunity is a valid one for me.  Sometimes they sound very good and I have a "yellow blinking light" flashing a warning in my brain--there is something "off" with this opportunity.  Sometimes I check it out anyway, though always with a lot of watchfulness.  Most of the time I soon find the flaw that my intuition had picked-up on from very few (and important) clues.

What this means for me is that I need to pay close attention to my "blinking lights."  I try not to "run" yellow lights in traffic--that can lead to lots of accidents and, with the new photo-sensor-pictures on many traffic lights--tickets or other negative consequences.  The same holds true with "running" a "yellow blinking light" concerning job opportunities.

I believe that all of us have the potential for this intuitive response to our environment.  We may build our confidence and skill by paying more attention as we move forward in our lives.