You've got the ball. 3 seconds on the clock. Tie game. Championship on the line. What do you do?
Shoot? Drive? Pass and cut?
In a fast-paced sport like basketball, you don't always have the luxury of thinking. You just have to go with your gut.
But is that the right call?
Science says yes: your gut instinct is way more accurate than you might think, especially for athletes who need to make rapid decisions in a matter of seconds. And, trusting your gut can also be a good call for long-term decisions, too.
Here's what the science says.
WHAT IS GUT INSTINCT?
Gut instinct, or intuition, is the result of rapid brain processing that occurs when we need a fast answer to a difficult question. Put simply, it's the answer that just "feels right" – even if we haven't given it a lot of thought.
Should you improvise a new move in the middle of a dance battle to put you over the top?
Should you enter the battle in the first place, or wait until you have more practice?
These are examples of when we rely on our gut instinct to tell us what to do.
Is it like guessing? Not at all. Research shows there's actually a lot of deep thinking that happens when we use our intuition – but at a much faster rate than other cognitive thought.
RAPID-FIRE DECISIONS
Sport psychologists say that our gut instinct uses rapid thinking and EXPERIENCE to produce quick answers.
On the basketball court, for example, players who sink shot after shot are sometimes called "unconscious" – almost like they’re not thinking at all. They're not analyzing and struggling with every possible decision. There's no time. They're making rapid-fire decisions based on past experience and the clues around them.
A split-second decision to pass the ball, instead of shoot, could be based on years of experience on the court and countless hours watching game film.
It's the overthinking that gets players into trouble. Any hesitation increases the risk of a mistake.
IT'S ALL ABOUT CONFIDENCE
Gut instinct is also a measure of your confidence about the situation, based on the clues mentioned above.
Researchers have found that our best instincts aren't always about the answer, but more about our confidence in the answer.
In other words, if you're confident about your intuition, the odds are greater that you're making the right call. If you have ZERO confidence in your gut instinct, then you could be setting yourself up for failure.
Keep in mind, our gut instinct is also what keeps us out of dangerous situations. "Fight or flight" - it all depends on the situation and what's best for your survival.
In the end, it's a matter of TRUSTING YOURSELF.
Only YOU can make the right answer, based on your situation, your experience and your goals. If you're overthinking every decision or never finding confidence in yourself, then maybe you're not really in it to win it – you're driven by a fear of failing.
Go with your gut. Go big. And never let fear get in the way of your greatness.