The Art Of A Good Brief
When it comes to commissioning any type of creative work, a great brief is a must.
Not only can a brief make or break a marketing project, it also sets the tone for your working relationship between you and the agency or freelancer.
Some people may think ‘Why bother with a brief? I’ll just tell them what I want over the phone, and we can begin!’
A brief is essentially your roadmap for the project. Without it, someone could get lost along the way.
Whether it’s a series of emails to your customer list, a product description, or a video script, a clear brief sets expectations from the outset and allows both client and freelancer to establish exactly what is needed, and by when.
Here’s what a good copy brief should consist of. I’ve also included project sample text so you can see how it could be filled out.
Copywriting Brief
Title of Project: (i.e. Onboarding Email for New Volunteers - Christmas 2018)
Description of project: ( ‘We need a new welcome email for volunteers that have signed up in the run up to Christmas who are about to do their first charity visit)
Format of project: (Copy for Mailchimp, up to 500 words. Include x2 alternate subject headings)
Rework of existing job, or new: (New job)
Background to your business: (‘We are a charity based in the UK offering hospital visits to sick children to brighten their day)
Include website URL and any supporting documents: (‘MakeAWish.org’)
Target audience: (‘Volunteers who have signed up to our newsletter’)
Core message: (‘We are happy to have you on board and we look forward to you brightening the lives of children who are ill in hospital’)
What is the personality of your brand, and your values? (‘We are warm, friendly and accessible. We value being kind and this is reflected in our tone of voice’).
What do you want your audience to think and feel with this content?
(‘We would like our volunteers to feel welcomed and supported, and that we are pleased they are on board. We want them to think that they have made a good choice, and that they are looking forward to making a difference’)
Who are your competitors? (N/A)
What is your call to action? (To get the volunteers to join our Private Facebook group)
When is this required by? (Final version of copy required by 1.11.18)
With a clear brief, the freelancer can see exactly what’s needed, and ask questions if appropriate. Depending on timescales, a call can be undertaken to discuss the brief before the project begins too, if needed.
A good brief should be clear, and to the point.
It doesn’t always need to have all of the segments listed above - sometimes more helps, or sometimes less - it depends on the size and scale of the project and the business itself. But keep it to one page of A4 if you can.
So why bother with a brief?
Having a clear brief can save time, because everything is in writing, and agreed before the freelancer starts work - so no questions in the middle of the project to clarify things.
Agreeing on a brief beforehand can save money, because by stipulating the proposed scope at the outset and mutually agreeing on the direction, it can mean that amend times are usually minimised.
Clear briefs can also save on resource - by documenting your work, you’ll be able to dig out old briefs, tweak them a little, and pass them on to the next freelancer or agency. It also gives you a template to refer back to when you’ve completed your project and want to review your marketing goals.
The Emotional Side of Freelancing
There are so many articles out there about how to get freelancing right, and there is so much to think about: the invoicing, the client communication, the hustle, the accounts, and more.
What I have learned in three years of working as a freelancer is that it can be an emotional rollercoaster, too. Just like an actual rollercoaster, freelancing can be immensely thrilling, exciting, and sometimes can make you feel a little bit sick. Without management or HR to review your work, and without a regular salary in place or colleagues to bounce ideas off of, those dips and twists in your work life can throw you emotionally if you don’t know how to handle them.
Yet, despite the rollercoaster, working as a freelancer has helped me become more emotionally stable. As a freelancer, I am my business. This means I have to stay grounded, consistent, and calm as I go about my work. I have also needed to develop and maintain a steady sense of peace, because freelancing, by nature, can be so uncertain and unstable.
I have always wanted to work for myself, and that, so far, has meant tackling every issue that has annoyed me about jobs I’ve had in the past. I’ve had many stomach-churning moments in this process, and have experienced a lot of positive moments and accomplishments as well. The positives make the lifestyle worth it, and how you deal with the stomach-churning moments — let’s call them dips — ultimately determine the success of your business. Here are some of the dips I have seen come up pretty regularly in my experience as a freelancer:
When the work (seems like) it’s drying up
I have noticed that freelance work often comes in cycles and correlates pretty heavily with your mindset. Panicking about paying the bills and the fact that no one you reach out to with ideas seems to be getting back in touch just won’t help you. I have learned to embrace the fact that I experience cycles of really busy periods, along with bouts of time when things feel a bit quieter, or when contracts naturally come to an end.
When work dries up, you need to remind yourself why you started. Did you want to work for just one person, on a never-ending, boring business? Of course not! You like the variety freelancing brings because it means you get to work on lots of small projects. Sometimes these last six months, and sometimes they don’t — that’s a good thing.
Don’t be afraid when things feel stagnant — maybe it just means that it’s time to get creative and go to the next level.
Plus, you love the thrill of the hustle! As a freelancer, love of the hustle is part of your nature. Whether you’re sending out proposals or chasing down projects, you can’t let the uncertainty behind the hustle destabilize you emotionally. I’ve realized that, though it may feel a little scary to get back on the saddle after enjoying a nice six to eight months of steady income, you have to remind yourself that looking for new opportunities helps you grow. I like to think about the hustle that comes from periods where I’m low on work like walking into a sweet shop. There, I get to look through a variety of options and search for exactly what will feel tasty and satisfying.
Don’t be afraid when you’re tested like this and things feel stagnant — maybe it just means that it’s time to get creative and go to the next level.
When you start to feel lonely
As a remote freelancer, sometimes you get lonely. Sure, you may be surrounded by other great freelancers if you’re part of a co-working space, or have more leniency in your schedule to meet friends for coffee, but when it comes to running your business, you’re on your own.
My advice? Get help when you can.
Realize that no man is an island. The beauty of living in today’s world is that there is an answer to every problem you have, including lack of community. You just have to find that answer.
Here’s the positive angle on difficult clients: They can build your emotional resilience.
I’ve also learned that loneliness can often come when you’re not focusing your efforts on the right things. Maybe you feel alienated because the work just isn’t the right fit for you, and does not engage you enough to be a real stepping stone on your journey.
Ultimately, we’re all learning about ourselves, so practicing patience with yourself is something that you’ll definitely get tested on as a freelancer. Try to find and build community wherever you can.
Dealing with difficult clients
These can come in all shapes and sizes. Some examples of difficult clients include those who are unresponsive whenever you reach out, some that just don’t seem happy with your work (regardless of how many edits or changes you make), or others who are simply taking advantage of you and have not yet paid you.
Here’s the positive angle on difficult clients: They can build your emotional resilience. Thankfully, I now rarely deal with them, because I’ve learned to be very careful about who I work with, but I do find it interesting how we can often attract clients who, unintentionally, may help us resolve an area of growth we may need.
Once, for example, I got burned when I was asked to do a fairly large package of copywriting work for a brand’s birthday campaign. Time was of the essence, and I delivered a newsletter, promo copy, emails, and some product descriptions over the course of a few days.
It is easy to put the client on a pedestal and to put yourself underneath that pedestal. But it doesn’t have to be like this, even if you’re a new freelancer.
I had asked for a deposit up front, but as the launch of the brand was “imminent,” (or so I was led to believe), I let it go when the company didn’t pay me immediately. Surprise, surprise: To this day I still have not been paid and the brand itself has gone AWOL.
This was the first time something like this happened to me, but it was a good test and helped me shape aspects of my work, including my boundaries, what I should and will insist upon, and what I decide is acceptable for me as a business owner.
Many freelancers can make mistakes like this when they start out, simply due to a lack of confidence. It is easy to put the client on a pedestal and to put yourself underneath that pedestal. But it doesn’t have to be like this, even if you’re a new freelancer. Learn not to let others take advantage of you. Holding your own when it comes to dips like these can ultimately make you stronger.
Marketing yourself
Ironic as it may sound, though I am a marketer, I really do not enjoy marketing myself. I don’t mind sharing my articles, but I don’t want to become a sales channel on social media for my business. It doesn’t feel right to me — I’d rather just use my platforms to share what I am interested in, and be myself rather than pushing “a brand.” Branding myself feels too confining.
As a freelancer, you are allowed to have a wide range of interests and skills and to use your social media to promote them. I have learned that, by being a little more personal and focusing away from pushing a brand, you may connect with the types of people you want to work with anyway.
Freelancing brings an extraordinary sense of empowerment and freedom. You alone are responsible for shaping your destiny.
I recently had a consulting client that contacted me with the following message: “I wasn’t familiar with you before today, but after looking at a few of your tweets I think we might have a few interests in common (I am a Manc with a fondness for raving and healthy living!)”
This message shows me that sharing my interests on social media enabled me to connect with a potential client who was on my wavelength, and who I felt that I could actually help. Yes, I do want to work with people that like raving and healthy living (and no, the two are not mutually exclusive!)
If someone does not seem to understand you, on the other hand, they are not your client. This is something that has taken me a long time to grasp, after working with lots of people who really weren’t the right fit for me. That’s okay, because there have been plenty of others who were.
I’ve spoken about the dips, but what about the highs? And yes, there are many — I wouldn’t have stuck it out as a freelancer this long if not. Along with the benefits of working remotely I’ve written about before, freelancing brings an extraordinary sense of empowerment and freedom. You alone are responsible for shaping your destiny.
Did you earn £4k this month? That was all you. Did you get a positive testimonial? That’s awesome — your communication style is working, and you’re building relationships. Is your brain bursting with ideas, and suddenly you want to write? Great! This means your creativity is being sparked.
So go for it, embrace the rollercoaster ride and the highs and the lows that come with it. Use each positive and negative experience to build emotional resilience and stability. Freelancing can be an emotional journey, but it doesn’t have to own you. Ultimately, it can be a journey where you’ll truly learn about yourself, and realize that you’re capable of more than you ever thought.
Writing your brand story
How do you tell a story?
You may not be aware of it, but we are telling stories all the time.
From the elevator pitch you do at a networking event, to the way you describe your day to your spouse, stories are the way we communicate.
To tell your brand story to a customer is all about showing them who you are.
It is to give them your 'why' - the reason why you're doing this in the first place.
- What motivated you to set up your business, create that product, or provide that service?
Simon Sinek is one of my favourite experts in this area.
He wisely says:
'Stories are attempts to share our values and beliefs. Storytelling is worthwhile when it tells what we stand for.'
Your customers will be more loyal to your brand if you understand why you're passionate about it.
To write your brand story is to communicate to your customer as if they were a trusted friend- and tell them what emotionally motivated you to start your business.
For example:
'After much searching, I wanted to provide parents with a range of affordable yet stylish pushchairs that I just couldn't find anywhere else.'
'My own experience in recovery from addiction led me to study the psychology of addiction, and after I qualified, I decided to become a therapist in order to help others in my position.'
'We wanted to set up a sugar-free cafe as there was nowhere around near us that provided the kinds of guilt-free snacks we really enjoyed at home. So we're bringing our sofa comforts to you!'
When you write your brand story, start with why.
Detail your journey, much like a storyteller.
- Describe the life situation you were in at the time
- Tell your audience how you spotted an opportunity to resolve someone's problem
- Explain to them how that led you to set up your business
It's important to add emotion - tell the human-to-human story of what you were feeling at the time:
'I realised that time and time again, the shoes I bought for my children just didn't meet their needs, or were poor quality. I was forever throwing them away. With this in mind I started to think about what an ideal shoe for them would look like - one that would work in all types of weather...'
If writing's not your strength, you can record audio or video, and listen back to it to help you. Imagine explaining it to a friend or a person you've just met, and notice the words and language you use. You can then use elements from the transcription to form your brand story.
Most of all, your brand story should grab the reader emotionally- they should identify with you as a person that's similar to them or understands them, and they should see you as a person that is ultimately trying to help them meet their needs.
Here's a brand story I did for baby brand moKee.
Want a remote job? 10 Facebook groups to join to find remote work fast
'Where there is a will, there is a way.'
Let this be your motto for finding remote work. Even if you feel like the chances of finding remote work quickly are slim, don't let that be your mindset. Think abundance and you will find it!
Facebook groups are a great place to find a remote job for the following reasons:
- People spend a lot of time on Facebook
- People are very responsive
- It's a good way to put a face to a name, unlike a CV or resume.
When I first started looking for remote work, I joined all the digital nomad/remote work/telecommute Facebook groups I could find. Here's a few (some are gender specific, sorry!):
1. Remote Work and Digital Nomads: 51,618 members
2. Digital Nomad Jobs: Remote Job Opportunities: 26,714 members
3. Digital Nomad Girls Community: 17,165 members
4. Freelance and Telecommute Job Leads 1, 722 members
5. Female Digital Nomads: 34, 558 members
6. Remote Jobs and Coworking for Digital Nomads: 1,691 members
8. Let's work remotely: remote jobs and digital nomad jobs: 19,723 members
9. Remote Work Hub: 5,262 members
10. Remote Work and Travel: 4,879 members
stats are correct as of August 2018
You have to be quick off the mark when applying, but scan these groups on a daily or weekly basis, and you'll soon find something that's right for you. Your dream job may feel like finding a needle in a haystack, but it is out there!
I'd love to know how social media has worked for you when creating your ideal work life.
If you'd like more specific advice in leaving your office job to become location independent, you can schedule a chat with me.
And if you'd like more resources, including a list of Youtube channels and inspiring books, check out Freedom Seekers.
Protecting your brand online
I discuss how to protect your brand reputation online in the age of social media 💻 ✍️#️⃣
I discuss how to protect your brand reputation online in the age of social media 💻 ✍️#️⃣
Direct Response Copy: saying more with less
You want attention, don't you?
That's what we all want for our businesses. We are all vying for eyeballs on our brand.
But you want more than that; you want ACTION.
Seeing is one thing; clicking is another.
In order to create copy that converts, and generates those all-important sales, sometimes less is more. In fact, sometimes we only have as little as 30 or 80 characters to make an impression, as with Google Adwords copy.
How do you write an effective piece of short copy that will attract the attention of your target audience?
Before you start, it's important that:
- you've mapped out your audience personas
- you know which persona this ad is targeting
- you have done your keyword research for that customer
- you have a relevant list of search terms.
In direct response copywriting, your keyword list is blended with the emotional painpoints of your persona.
For this example, Let's say we're selling an eco-friendly copper drinking bottle, and we're writing a Google Adwords ad.
The customer is interested in going plastic-free, and they are also potentially interested in the health benefits claimed. They want a better solution rather than buying plastic bottles to take to work or the gym, for example, and are concerned about the effects of BPA.
The keywords we may want to use are variations and a mixture of: 'plastic-free bottles', 'water bottles', 'copper bottles', 'plastic drinking bottle', 'eco-friendly', 'sustainable'.
- We start the ad with:
The 'hook': Posing a question, or answering a question that directly relates to what the customer is needing.
Looking for an alternative to your plastic drinking bottle?
Beautiful eco-friendly copper water bottle
- Then, we provide the second headline, or 'tagline':
Tagline: Here you would support your headline/hook, and include the painpoint if you haven't already:
Copper is sustainable and stylish
Plastic-free with health benefits
- Next you'd provide a brief description of your product:
Description: This is designed to get the audience's attention and make them intrigued to find out more. This isn't the place to list all of it's features and benefits.
Handcrafted designs inspired by nature, available in 500-900ml.
Minimalistic and stylish bottles, based on Ayurvedic principles.
- CTA: Finally, you need to end on a great call-to-action, that encourages that all important link click!
Shop Now
Get yours today
That's two variations of the ad, which would look something like this:
“Looking for an alternative to your plastic drinking bottle?
Copper is sustainable and stylish
Handcrafted designs inspired by nature, available in 500-900ml.
Shop Now ”
“Beautiful eco-friendly copper water bottle
Plastic-free with health benefits
Minimalistic and stylish bottles, based on Ayurvedic principles.
Get yours today ”
Spoken word and visual set
I'm a big fan of Alan Watts' spoken word, techno, and visuals, so I thought I'd mix all three together in this one hour set I've done as a personal creative project.
Feel free to use it!
To listen to just the audio on Soundcloud, see here: Techno Alan Watts
Tips for massive growth on Pinterest
I adore Pinterest. It's basically a virtual vision board where you can attach all of your interests - things to make, clothes to wear, recipes to try, places to go, hairstyles to have - whatever floats your boat, really.
In fact, I find it so useful for my personal growth that I've stopped spending time on all other social media channels, and am taking a break from all of my personal accounts for the forseeable.
Strange for a marketing strategist maybe, but I continue to use social media for my clients, so I'm not out of the loop entirely.
I've been working with Pinterest for my clients for a while now, and it can be a really useful channel, if your business is aligned to the demographic on there.
Here's some numbers at a glance (Jan 2018)
- 175 million monthly active users (75 million US, 100 million outside US)
- 2 million daily users
- 81% of users are female
- 67% of users are under 40
- 2/3rds of pins represent brands and products
- Average time spent daily on Pinterest is 14.2 minutes
At first look, this is nothing compared to the social media big guns, like Insta, Facebook and Twitter. But Pinterest can be very lucrative for product manufacturers, artists, photographers, and anyone with a wide range of products or visual art to pin.
I used to use Pinterest quite sporadically, but now I use it daily. The reason why? I've realised it's value as 'soul food', and the direction it gives to your unconscious mind. It can stop you from getting in a rut with the foods you cook, the thoughts you think, and what inspires you.
You can use it as a tool to create your dream life, searching for things to buy for your home, jewellery to wear, life wisdom to live by, or just images that make you feel all warm and glowy inside.
I've used it successfully with clients in order for them to get traction for their brand. It's a great brand builder, as well as a sales tool. Not only can people pin and then directly buy your product, it allows you to create a virtual values board where you pin images related to your brand essence.
Spiritual Gangster is a good example of this, and has an impressive 33k followers.
Here's some of the things I've learned about Pinterest in order to grow a successful channel:
- Treat it as a search engine
Pinterest isn't really a social media platform; it's a visual search engine. By treating it in this way, you use it like you would do Google, as the strategy has some overlap. Make a list of your long tail keywords and search terms and use these to inform how you title and describe your pins.
- Pin frequently, across timezones
The secret to big success on Pinterest is Tailwind. It's fantastic, and really allows for rapid growth. It's a scheduling and analytics tool that allows you to schedule a large number of pins on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Ideally you need to be posting at least 10-20 pins a day, 7 days a week.
- Think SEO everywhere
Board names and descriptions are important. As well as the more conceptual names you might use, you definitely want to include board titles that specifically match what your customer is looking for. For example a 'Fun books for children' board may include the description :'Here's a selection of some of the fun books for children we stock. Our books for children range from 4-14 years'
- Use hashtags appropriately
Hashtags are great because these are what will get you found. Don't be afraid to use up to 30, like you do on Instagram. Again, think about what your customers may be searching for. For example, if you're a sunglasses store, you might use something like #sunglasses #shades #fashionshades #eyewear #funkyshades #womensglasses #glasses #holidaywear, or similar. Use your SEO research and current keyword list to inform your strategy for hashtags.
- More boards the better
Don't worry about having too many boards. In fact, the more boards the better. Having a large selection of images on your Pinterest shows a strong presence, and will enable you to be found easily. Even if you only have 50 products, you can still create other 'brand vibe' boards that serve as a visual moodboard for your brand identity. For example, I work with a swimwear company and have an 'Inspired by the beach' board where I pin sandy toes, coconuts on the beach, palm trees, and everything evoking the feeling of being at the beach.
- Use product pins for your products
In the lifespan of Pinterest, product pins are fairly recent. You can connect your website or online store to your pins, so they show the price. Your customer knows what they are getting, and for how much. Make sure you use your product pin description to its full capacity, describing the product, and maybe even an incentive ('10% off your first order!')
- Connect your website to Pinterest
Pinterest's developer tools include an API where you can add a Pinterest 'save' button to all of the images on your website, meaning Pinterest fanatics will be able to save your online store products to their boards, thus increasing the likelihood of purchase.
- Run competitions: 'Pin to Win'
I've found competitions to be very successful, particularly when it comes to building followers quickly. In order to be successful though, you need a couple of other strong platforms to send traffic there. If you have a thriving Facebook group for example, selling beauty products, you could ask them to pin their favourite product to enter a monthly prize draw. It works, as loyal Pinterest users will usually follow you at the same time.
- Be strategic
This may go without saying, but think about where your customers are coming from (use analytics to inform), and be strategic about when you're posting. It's not just about the time of day, it's also about the season. For example, in November and December you might be focusing on Christmas party pinning. The more you know your customer, the more you know what they'll be searching for, and when.
- Consistency is key
Although you want Pinterest to be an extension of your shop, it is also a brand builder. To do Pinterest for a few months and then stop means you may lose traction with your customers. You want to be seen as much as possible, to the most amount of people. By using a scheduler, you can schedule in your pins weeks or months ahead.
Need a Pinterest Marketing Expert? Contact me for more on how I can help with your Pinterest Strategy, and grow your Pinterest Channel.
All the feels: becoming an Instagram success
Becoming successful on Instagram is a skill. It's not just about the algorithms, knowing your audience and posting at the right times of day (although these are important), it's also about developing a consistent strategy that pulls on the heartstrings of what truly matters to your audience.
Here's a few things to bear in mind:
1. The emotion in the image
When you look at the image, what's your first feeling? (not thought). Does the image make you feel happy, does it make you laugh, do you feel inspired, do you feel excited?
Our reaction to images are primarily emotional and largely unconscious, so it's worth collating a series of images before you pick one. For example, if you want to show an excited face, collect a few examples and go with the one that evokes the most feeling in you.
2. The emotion in the caption
There are a few clever ways of using the caption to engage. Don't forget, your audience will only be seeing the first eight words or so before they have to click to read more, so if you haven't hooked them in. I've seen two techniques work well:
- The minimalist caption. This could be something like 'This is why I love my cat.' Something simple, possibly funny or sarcastic, or inspirational works well for a short caption. It can even be replaced by emojis. Quotes work well here too, for example 'my grandad told me to "never give up on your dreams"'
- The storytelling caption. This is where the user tells a story about the image. 'I remember this day so well. Me and dad had just hiked 4 miles in the pouring rain, and had just stopped to pour a flask of coffee...'. By sharing emotionally in such a detailed way, you're giving more emotional emphasis to the picture. The user now sees it as you see it, as you have contextualised it in a heartfelt way.
3. Hashtags
Hashtags are not just about organic SEO. Try being creative with your hashtags too, and using emotion. You can even use humorous hashtags. For example, if you're selling birthday cakes, you might want to use #birthdaycake #birthday and #celebrationcake, but you might also use #allthecandles #birthdaygirl #itsmybirthday #gettingold . You can use up to 30 hashtags, but 7-15 is a more appropriate number.
4. The uniqueness of the image
How many images do you see a day? Hundreds? Thousands, perhaps, in the course of a week? It's not enough to choose an emotive stock image from Pexels or Unsplash if everyone else is using the same image. It just won't have the same effect. On Instagram, the more different and 'out there' your image is, the better. Of course, the quality matters. Use an app like VSCOcam if you haven't got a good quality camera. The image needs to be aesthetically pleasing, but somewhat unusual, as if offering a different perspective on something. If it's different then people are more likely to not only like it but tag a friend in the comments.
5. Translate brand emotions
Brand emotions are how your brand presents itself online. What is it's personality? Is it cheeky, optimistic, warm-hearted, inspirational or sarcastic? Make a list of your four core emotions and keep them in mind when searching for imagery or writing captions.
Give them the feels - create an Instagram feed that pulls your audience towards you.
(The picture in this article got 13,461 likes. I had seen it on Pinterest and saved it because I liked the feel of it).
Want more advice on how to get the most out of Instagram? Get in touch for how I can help with your strategy.
The next frontier is intuition.
Humanity loves to explore unchartered territory...
Humanity loves to explore unchartered territory.
Elon Musk builds a spaceship, Usain Bolt breaks the 100m sprint record, CERN builds a Hadron collider. All marvellous physical feats.
We have explored, inspected, fragmented and dissected every piece — indeed, every atom of our ‘outer’ worlds. And yet, there is still more to discover.
But one area is only just starting to be acknowledged as a possible tool for evolution. We are only just uncovering and questioning something which is often hidden from our midst; which we can’t measure, weigh, or analyse.
Intuition.
Intuition is not used in the way modern science operates, although some organisations attempt to objectively study it. In recent times we’ve discovered that when we subconsciously spot patterns, the body starts firing neurochemicals in the brain and the gut. There is, after all, a little brain in the gut. It’s called the enteric nervous system.
But this is as far as it’s got. Neither science nor society has been able to translate that into practical experience — what it actually means for humanity.
Albert Einstein saw the beginnings of this when he was alive:
‘The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift’.
This ‘gift’ is something that we all use, but many of us do not know how to harness it. It’s put down to one of those mysteries of human existence, like coincidences, deja vu or premonitions, but we hear people speak about it every day:
‘I don’t know why I chose her over the other woman for the job. I just had a gut feeling’
‘I can’t explain it, but I have a hunch that this is going to work out.
‘I just knew I would live here one day’
We have this explanation in the dictionary, of course:
‘Intuition: The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.’
It arose in the mid 15th Century from late latin, and they used it to mean pretty much the same thing ‘to consider or to look at from within’.
Even the word itself ‘in-tuition’ supposes that we have some kind of inner guidance system.
Cool, our own internal GPS! But why don’t we use it more often, then?
Maybe we do for choosing romantic partners. But what if we used it for choosing the foods that we ate, the media that we consumed, the areas that we lived in and the people that we socialised with?
Why is intuition not used more in everyday life?
Because of course, our intuition can appear to be wrong. And what’s more, there is a crisis of trust which is seeping through modern day existence like a rising tide. This pervasive lack of trust also makes us doubt and question. It makes us fear.
Fear, in all of it’s forms, is antithetical to the intuition. Why? Because intuition is about sensing. It’s about feeling.
Intuition arises from listening to the body, fear comes from listening to the mind.
The other reason is that we need to be calm and relaxed in order to hear our intuition. After all, our instinctual responses seemingly arise out of nowhere -intuitions are often not sought, they arise spontaneously.
Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer, a German social psychologist and director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, told The New York Times that he didn’t like intuition because “it is not thought to be rational.” Plus, he added ‘it’s slow.”
If we’re really busy, we may not be really present to our life, and our intuition may well be compromised. We need to slow down in order to be present to our gut instincts. In fact, slowing down to hear my own intuition is one of the reasons why I love remote work. It allows me to ‘unplug’ from the system more.
Steve Jobs once said that intuition is more powerful than intellect, and I have to agree, because the inspiration for this article came to me through my intuition. The idea comes to me in a flash; then I have to use my rational mind to plan it out. I know it’s a good idea when I get excited about writing it.
What would the future look like if we all developed our intuition more? Who knows. Perhaps we’d have more trust in ourselves, more faith in our decisions and more understanding about what is good for us personally.
Developing our intuition is the new frontier for human evolution. Perhaps we’re at the end of what we objectively know, and now we need to start using our instincts as another way to gain knowledge. Kahlil Gibran puts it nicely:
‘When you reach the end of what you should know, you will be at the beginning of what you should sense.’