When the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker during his Death Star trench run to use the Force, suggesting he turn off his targeting computer, there’s a lot of wisdom behind this scene.

Instincts.  Intuition.  So important, so underrated.  Absolutely crucial in life, at work, play, etc.  

A major part of D in OODA – Decide.  Don’t get me wrong, you still need to use your brain.  Don’t trust the feeling types who don’t analyze or think.

This principle works for both long term endeavors or split second decisions.  In policing, seconds aren’t seconds, they can be eternities.  I’m no cop, but I am intimately familiar with the use of force, including deadly instances.  Normal becomes problematic in a flash.  That’s where and when instincts matter, honed of course by training and experience (sometimes inadequate, but this is for another time).

Also absolutely integral when reading people – probably the most crucial application.  My orphan grandmother would often say she could look at someone’s face and tell who they were.  We used to dismiss this as her grouchy old woman thoughts.  I’m not so sure anymore.  Grandma survived a lot and knew a ton about human nature.  

On my end, I used my instincts / intuition quite a bit for many situations.  It has saved me many times.  I told a friend that while I’m not the most precise (takes me time to nail down details), I’m generally accurate – will get into the ballpark relatively quickly.  It also helped me when I played goalie, the outfield, or rebound in basketball.  This will sound silly, but I could feel where the ball would be.

But don’t take my word for it – Bruce Lee “Intuition is true seeing.”