I was fortunate to grow up with a father who was slow to anger and always seemed approachable and even-tempered. He was also very successful in his chosen field of banking, and a good role model to emulate as I grew into manhood.
Dad was very consistent in his beliefs and teachings, one of which involved the importance of exercising good judgment, something he assessed when evaluating those who worked for him. In banking, poor judgment shows up most obviously in loan write-downs and less obviously in the various contributors to not meeting profit targets. As an accountant by profession, the numbers didn’t lie and gave him the data to use when questioning those whose performance hadn’t met his expectations.
When it came time for me to consider my career path, I had found accounting also came easily to me, did an accounting major, followed by auditing for a Big 4 firm, then moved into investment banking, initially as a credit analyst. In both these initial roles the development of sound judgment was encouraged, although always supported by evidence, preferably from an independent source. In my auditing and banking careers, judgment seemed highly data driven, with no encouragement given to use “gut” instinct or intuition.
It was only when I went into my own business, providing consulting services on a partially partnered basis with my clients, that the importance of intuition became clear to me. In that business I took on clients on the basis of the financial potential of their projects, and paid little attention to other factors. As long as they could pay my fees, and their project had potential, they could become a client.
However, over time, a disturbing pattern emerged, which I didn’t fully recognize until I’d been in business about 9 years, and it was costing me dearly in legal fees from a client dispute. At that point I decided to investigate the cause of this self-sabotaging pattern, which has been a fascinating journey into the workings of the subconscious mind and human energy.
One thing I learned is that men have just as much access to intuitive guidance as women, and that reconnecting with this can keep us out of a whole lot of trouble. It can also enable us to see opportunities that would not be evident when our decisions are being driven by numerical data alone. Often opportunities are hidden within situations we would otherwise see as problems.
I have found that adopting a state of gratitude in such situations inevitably leads to these hidden opportunities revealing themselves. When we do so, we are suspending our judgment of the situation as “bad” or someone as “wrong”, and opening ourselves to the hidden “gift” they can reveal for our benefit. While it may seem counter-intuitive to be grateful for problems, I challenge you to try this. You will find it a powerful tool for personal and business growth.
When we reframe the way we view the world, commit to releasing past judgments of it and others, and adopt an attitude of gratitude no matter what is happening in our life, we start to notice that life is constantly sharing what we most need to know, and be on our way to living a more intuitive, conscious and joyful life.
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