Not surprisingly, this aspect
of intuition strengthens as
an individual’s experience
increases. In his book, “Outliers:
The Story of Success,” Malcolm
Gladwell explores research
around the achievement of
mastery—namely, the idea
that it takes 10,000 hours
to develop to a standard of
“expert performance.” I have
certainly seen this in coaching.
Even as new coaches move past
the 50-hour mark, I tend to see
a bump in improvement. They
simply have more to draw on.
Although some would argue
that this proves there is no
such thing as intuition—only
expertise—I believe this is just
one aspect of a much more
complicated system.
An Accurate Reflection
Another key part of our
intuition system is our ability
to understand one another via
mirror neurons. Mirror neurons
fire both when an animal acts
and when the animal observes
the same action performed
by another. Thus, the neuron
“mirrors” the behavior of the
other, as though the observer
itself were acting. Discovered
only about 15 years ago, the
function and extent of mirror
neurons is still the subject of
much speculation. However,
many researchers believe that
the mirror neuron systems in
the human brain may serve as
the neural basis of emotions
such as empathy and intuition.
Mirror neurons function
below conscious processing.
26
Coaching World |
August 2013
In other words, we aren’t
generally aware that we’re
mirroring someone else, nor is
it volitional. We see our friend
about to bump his head on a
doorway, and we instinctively
duck as well. We watch
someone eat a luscious, gooey
piece of chocolate cake on
organs. It conveys information
about the body’s state to the
central nervous system: In fact,
80 to 90 percent of information
traveling along the vagus nerve
is flowing from the body to the
brain, instead of vice versa.
There are neurons in our
heart and in our gut, and the
information
they gather
flows back
to the brain
through the
vagus nerve. (It
should come
as no surprise
that so many
languages
contain phrases
that relate
knowledge to
the physical
body, from
having “a
gut instinct”
to learning
something “by
heart.”) We
can intentionally access this
part of the intuition system
by checking in on our own
physical reactions and body
sensations—this includes the
information we pick up about
others through our own mirror
neurons.
“... the more we check
in with our own bodily
reactions and practice
assigning language to righthemisphere responses,
the better we get at it.
Through practice and
repetition, we are building
and strengthening neural
pathways within our
intuition system.”
television and our own mouths
water. Mirror neurons fire
quickly, providing information
that might help us understand
others’ actions and intentions.
Often, we mirror things we
aren’t consciously aware of,
such as a fleeting body posture,
a subtle tone of voice or even
micro-movements in the face.
All of this provides information
for our intuition system.
Gut Check
From the Latin for “vague” or
“wandering,” the vagus nerve
has branches that connect
to most of the body’s major
Right Thinking
The vagus nerve carries
information to the brain’s
right hemisphere. The left
hemisphere—not the right—is in
charge of symbolic language and
linear processes. Consequently,
though the information that the
vagus nerve transports is crucial,