First feelings are always the most natural.

First feelings are always the most natural. – Louis XIV

“Have I got a deal for you!” he intones. My gut says RUN!

What does that mean?
This is so true, in my experience. Be it emotional, intellectual, or social, the first feeling has always been my greatest ally. Before I learned to trust it, I frequently goofed things up by second-guessing myself. Now I know better, and I try to trust my initial response, or first feeling.

I also trust my first feeling when it comes to emotional decisions or feelings, and seldom have I been wrong. I also rely on my first feelings when I meet someone new. This has also served me well over time.

The first feelings are usually the feelings which come to the surface unrequested. They come to you before you actually start thinking about it, and deciding what you want to happen, and start calculating what you might have to think or feel to get that point.

To me, that’s what the quote’s most important point actually is. Trust yourself. Believe in your feelings. Go with your gut. However you want to word it, the result is usually the same, a better outcome than if you spent too much time thinking about it (and messing with your own head in the process).

Why is following your instincts important?  
I wanted to use the word instincts here, rather than feelings, because I didn’t want this to sound like carte blanche to simply do whatever felt good at the moment. That’s not what this quote is supposed to be about, in my opinion.

Our instincts, even dulled by our modern lifestyle and constant suppression by the higher mind, is still a wonder of information synthesis. Figuring out someone is probably lying to you is more than just the trustworthiness of the words they are uttering. It is their demeanor, their delivery, their style, any give-aways or tells, all rolled into one. That’s your gut feeling.

When we ignore our first feeling, we often are throwing away a very quick and sophisticated analysis in favor of a pleasing smile or impressive rhetoric. This is exactly what someone who wishes to deceive you will count on, and what they have practiced. I would recommend you stick with your first feelings.

Where can I apply this in my life?
Let us count the ways… Any first encounter. Any negotiation. Any transaction. Just about any time you have any dealings with another human being. Well, that last one sounds a little cynical, but there it is. First feelings work, and people change. Just because they were trustworthy yesterday doesn’t always mean they will be trustworthy forever.

Any first encounter goes back to the classic line: “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” And you never get a second chance to get that first feeling at the initial meeting. That’s what happens at work, or at a party, right?

Have you ever met someone and within ten minutes, you are finishing each other’s sentences? And have you ever met someone who simply creeped you out? That is your first feelings at work. Can you explain one any more than you can explain the other?

Any negotiation and any transaction goes to a level of trust you have in the other people. From the board room to bartering, from discussing your next assignment to talking to your kid about their day at school, your gut feeling is going to tell you something.

Your mind is assimilating thousands of little clues. Body language, attitude, intonation, nervous motions, anything and everything that might be a clue. You roll it up into a quick go/nogo decision and that’s your gut feeling. That’s why having a ‘poker face’ is so important in that famous card game, so as to trick the other players into distrusting their gut.

In the end, it’s up to you to determine how often you trust your first feelings, how often you ‘go with your gut’ in your life. Some of it will depend on how well tuned your gut is, and how observant you are. Some of it may well depend on how analytical you are (it tends to crowd out the intuitive side, trust me on that).

But overall, even when my analytical mind overrides it, my first feelings are the most natural and the most likely to be correct. How about you? What have your experiences been?

From: Twitter, @quoteshash
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/louisxiv183410.html
Photo by skunks

Happy Birthday to Louis XIV, Sun King of France, born 5 September 1638.