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As you all know, I love using the time while I am driving to catch up on episodes from my favorite podcasts. This past weekend I was listening to the Rich Roll podcast where he was having a discussion with Guru Singh about impulse versus intuition.

They go on to talk more about the 4 I’s and it really made an impression on me so I thought I’d share with you some of the things that Rich Roll and Guru Singh talk about. I’ll also add in some of my thoughts and how we can apply these 4 I’s to our daily lives.

Instinct, Impulse, Intuition, Intelligence

Instinct – how humans have evolved and developed innate responses to certain situations. These responses get down to the primal level of humans where we a pre-programmed to survive, protect, and pro-create.

Impulse – our responses when certain “buttons” are pushed. These are quick reactions to external stimuli that give us heighten and sometimes fierce emotions. Impulses can be positive or negative but we can probably think of many more negative examples than positive ones.

Intuition – Learned responses to situations where our experiences and knowledge have enabled us to react quickly based on previous training. These responses are usually known as “gut feelings” but more times than not, those hunches are based on information gathered from previous occurrences.

Intelligence – deeper, more advanced thought that stems from systematic problem solving of complex issues. These responses are based on higher-level thinking and are what separate humans from basic animals based on our capacity for abstraction. We can put ourselves in different places or times for thought exercises like, “would I want to live in this neighborhood in the future?”

Reaction and Response Times

Instinct

There is a time and a place where we need our instincts to come through. They usually have the quickest reaction times that almost always involve our subconscious mind.

For example, when you find yourself diving out of the way of a car and then think back afterward and say, “how did I move so fast?” Or when a parent somehow catches their falling baby even though they were asleep, that’s their parental instincts trigger extremely fast reactions to survive and protect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnYT4uQQu0c&t=84s

Impulse

Impulses can be positive or negative but most of the time I associate them with negative reactions I want to take immediately after someone “pushes” one of my buttons.

When I get that email that gets under my skin, when someone unnecessarily cuts me off on the highway in a super dangerous way, or when people ask me for help with something when all they would have to do is click on the first link after googling their exact question.

I have found that taking a deep breath and practicing patience is the number one way I avoid my quick reaction impulses to needlessly lash out when calmer minds would provide better responses. That’s because if I employ the 24-hour rule and wait a day before sending back an emotionally charged email, I can use my intuition or intelligence to take a better approach.

Intuition

Intuition takes a little bit longer to react than instincts and impulses. There is usually some thought that occurs where I feel like I’ve been here before or seen this happen before and now I know how to react.

This reminds me of a story I read about a registered nurse going to meet her new boyfriend’s parents for the first time. As she started talking to his father, she realized that something was off. She didn’t know what but knew that he wasn’t right and told him to go to the hospital.

When he got to the hospital, they found that he was having a heart attack and they were able to catch it early enough to save his life.

The nurse, through her years of seeing patients pre and post-heart attacks, could recognize certain facial features that were off with someone she barely knew. Her “gut” was telling her something was wrong and her intuition save this man’s life.

Intelligence

Finally, intelligence takes a little bit longer to come about. We use this type of response when we really have to think about how to solve a problem.

As I figure out the best ways to live my life, plan for my financial future, and stay healthy, I use the intelligence I have gained through past experiences and new research to take the best action I can. Intelligent responses are what successful people do the best.

Which Response Leads to a Rich Life?

I want to have a large net worth. Therefore, I need to plan out a way so that my impulses don’t get in the way of my intelligent financial plans. My plan of automatic transfers to savings and investment accounts prevents me from messing things up.

I want to lose weight, reduce my body fat, and get in shape. I make a goal to create processes to eat healthily and exercise. If these activities are easy and attractive, then my impulses will empower me to follow through with the intelligent processes I have created.

There are many other examples too, like trying to grow and try something new but our instincts say we should stay put and remain in a comfortable situation. Or if I want to become a doctor so that I can help people, I read, take classes and learn many different things so that my intuition can draw on problems my intelligent mind previously learned or solved.

These are just some examples of where we can use our intelligent minds to turn our instincts, impulses, and intuition into tools that can put us on a path toward living a rich life.

What are some situations where you use your intelligence rather than your impulses?