Did you know you have a second brain? If you’ve ever “gone with your gut,” felt “butterflies” in your belly, or had a “pit in your stomach,” your second brain, hidden within the walls of your digestive system, was talking to you.
Unlike the three pound first brain housed within the protective covering of the cranium, the second brain is not capable of thought, but it informs the main brain every millisecond of the day making it a key contributor to your health, success, and happiness.
The second brain is an amazing information-processing machine often gone unrecognized in favor of its rational thinking counterpart.
The tenet of modern society is to make rational decisions based on the assumption that the world is linear and predictable. But if we have learned anything this year, the world is far more complex and unforeseen than we ever thought.
The second brain gives us access to quick and ready insight informed by experience and learned knowledge. This unique insight, that makes us distinctly human, is born from many layers of awareness separating us from artificial intelligence and the rest of the animal kingdom.
Many of the every day decisions we make are grounded in logic while donning a rational thinking cap. However, this is not all we have access to. The second brain is tied to the main brain like no other organ. The complex communication between these two regions of the body play a role in some of our most important decisions whether we are aware of it or not.
So if you are a high-performer looking for an extra edge to help you get ahead in life, work, and leadership, the science behind intuition and gut-feeling suggests that the second brain might just be the superpower to give you the leg-up you’re looking for.
By treating the second brain as the first brain’s equal, this extensive and often deeply personal body of wisdom that we have access to can be used in a myriad of decision making and serve as a guide for how to be a good leader and organizer.
Scientist believe intuition, the parts of the mind that gives us the ability to know something without analytical reasoning, operates through the entire right side of the brain and through the gut, the second brain.
What if you could sense a problem before the data suggested that there was one? You can if you invite the second brain into your thought process.
Here’s How
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Pay attention to your gut. It’s no accident that the term intuition and gut feeling are used interchangeably. Don’t disregard those butterflies or queasy sensations.
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Quiet your mind. Quieting the mind and posing decisions as questions can deepen your intuition and guide you toward the answer. The answer is behind the questions we ask.
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Notice your energy level. How do you feel around certain people? Drained or energized? Considering your gut, along with other measures, to read people can make you a more effective leader or negotiator in your business dealings.
The second brain has more neurons than the spinal cord in total. It’s not a thinking brain, but a feeling brain. By placing priority on your gut health, you are protecting the second brain that serves as a major silent partner that influences your basic emotions, pain sensitivity, social interactions, and many of your decisions.
Because the first and second brain are so linked together, whatever effort you make to strengthen one will strengthen the other.
Open up to the brain-gut connection and see what your superpower can do.