Acting on instinct, without conscious thought. Good or bad?


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HowICIt is offline HowICIt Post #1  July 2,2011, 7:23am

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For some reason, this morning I found myself pondering something and was wondering what you guys thought.

I was thinking back to a few times in my life when I did not have conscious thought of my actions and just acted on instinct. I am not sure which I would prefer.

I don't like the idea of not having thought of my actions prior to acting. However, I know me and if I did have thought over my actions maybe I would not have acted in the way I did (specifically thinking I may have panicked and not done anything or done the wrong thing due to the panic) and I would not have had the outcome I did.

Can you guys recall any moments in your life where you acted and then realized you have no conscious thought of making that action? Does that bother you? Is there a benefit to it? Would you change it? Or do you just trust it? But if you trust it, how can you really if there is no conscious thought to it?

Just wondering...
 
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PreachersSon is offline PreachersSon Post #2  July 2,2011, 7:48am
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Personally, no. That's one of my many faults--I overthink things to an astounding degree. Usually, that serves me well, and helps to avoid making stupid choices just because "I felt like it at the time." I have learned however, at times, to make a conscious decision to just "go with the flow" in a particular situation, and not think it to death.

But that hasn't been an instinctual thing. It's been a conscious decision, based on a dedicated reasoning process, and with clearly prethought limits as to how far I would let myself drift, and for what time period. You also have to be very thoughtful about when and how you choose to just let yourself act on instinct, or "just go with it."

On occasion, though, it can be a useful device, subject to those limitations.
 
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curiousgirl123 is offline curiousgirl123 Post #3  July 2,2011, 8:57am
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I would consider myself adventurous but not impulsive.
The things I do need to make sense to me and I try to consider possible consequences. I wouldn't say I over think but I also don't jump into something without giving it a thought.
 
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HowICIt is offline HowICIt Post #4  July 2,2011, 9:44am

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I am just speaking to those very few moments when you do not have conscious thought of your actions.

Maybe you guys have not had any of those moments in life.

I know I have but they are only a few to the point I could name them all.

Once, I was sitting on the couch chatting with a boy about 5 years old. He was half standing and half bent backwards with his back on the couch, tossing up a quarter and catching it. We were just chatting and he is tossing up the quarter and catching it with his hand. And then for some reason he decides to catch it with his mouth. And just like that, the next conscious moment I have is seeing the quarter come flying out and hitting the ground. The next thing I realize is that the kid is now between my legs, facing out and down, with me hitting his back. I do not have conscious thought of grabbing the kid and making that decision to do that. I only realize conscious thought again when I see the quarter hitting the carpet.

Another time is I was getting in my car and I heard an altercation. Through my rear view mirror, I was watching a man and a woman get in an argument. They were far across the parking lot from me but close enough that I saw the man make a fist and bring his arm back to punch the woman. The first conscious thing I realize after seeing that is they are now looking at me and both drive off. The next thing I realize is there is a woman one car over from me who tells me she is glad I said something. Until that moment, I had not realized that I was out of my car and had yelled, "Hey!" across the parking lot. I do not remember making the decision to do that. I was not conscious of it.

The only other time I recall having a moment of realizing I did something without thinking about it was in a soccer game. I had never played against a team that played dirty like this team did. And after a few dirty tricks one was too many for me and I saw "red" and kicked back. I don't remember making a conscious choice to do something but I know I made an action.

So while all of these things I do not think I would change if I was conscious of my actions, I still do not like the fact that I acted without thought.

And I don't trust it. Even though, at least in my experience, I would not have changed my actions so far.
 
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Odira is offline Odira Post #5  July 2,2011, 11:47am
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One occasion that stands out for me - years ago I was mugged. Instead of giving up the purse the guy jerked away from me, I went insane

I attacked the guy with a ferocity that I remember but had no conscious control over. Honestly, I would have killed him had I the means to do so.

Got my purse back. And shook uncontrollably for about an hour afterwards.

Unlike your examples, I do remember everything I said and did.
 
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HowICIt is offline HowICIt Post #6  July 2,2011, 9:07pm

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Odira wrote :
Unlike your examples, I do remember everything I said and did.
I don't know what I prefer. Not realizing what I am doing or knowing what I am doing and not having conscious control over what I am doing.

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you had the means to do so? Does that ever scare you? Or do you think at some point rational thought would take control?
 
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shapeShifter79 is offline shapeShifter79 Post #7  July 2,2011, 11:06pm
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HowICIt wrote :
Can you guys recall any moments in your life where you acted and then realized you have no conscious thought of making that action? Does that bother you? Is there a benefit to it? Would you change it? Or do you just trust it? But if you trust it, how can you really if there is no conscious thought to it?
Of course! You do it everyday, for example when you drive your car. Generally, anything you've done 10,000 times or so can be done primarily on instinct. This applies to sports and hobbies too! You're often faster when you're not thinking. It's also helpful when you're doing something the brain gets nervous about--such as calling a beautiful woman to ask her out, jumping from one ledge on a mountain to another, etc.

We have both modes of thinking because they're both useful.
 
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Odira is offline Odira Post #8  July 3,2011, 7:41am
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HowICIt wrote :
I don't know what I prefer. Not realizing what I am doing or knowing what I am doing and not having conscious control over what I am doing.

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you had the means to do so? Does that ever scare you? Or do you think at some point rational thought would take control?
I never gave much thought about what I would prefer. However, I can tell you that after this incident I became very aware of my surroundings, the people around me, etc. I level of alertness heightened dramatically.

As to my murderous thoughts. I don't think I would have felt too much guilt. The guy had a knife, so it would have been a legitimate case of self-defense. Funny, I remember when it happened, some part of my brain acknowledged that he had a knife, but it didn't alter my actions. Huh.


shapeShifter79 wrote :
Of course! You do it everyday, for example when you drive your car. Generally, anything you've done 10,000 times or so can be done primarily on instinct. This applies to sports and hobbies too! You're often faster when you're not thinking. It's also helpful when you're doing something the brain gets nervous about--such as calling a beautiful woman to ask her out, jumping from one ledge on a mountain to another, etc.

We have both modes of thinking because they're both useful.
Driving a car is a good example of our brains making tons of mathematical calculations that we probably could never replicate in a classroom.

The sports example I think is referred to as 'muscle memory.'
 
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HelenDanger is offline HelenDanger Post #9  July 3,2011, 11:15am
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If you perceive threat or danger, yes, absolutely obey your instincts. That's what they're there for.
 
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