First Instinct and Decision Making

Just starting this post was a task in itself. I was going against my first instinct immediately, whether to write about first instincts or not (How ironic). Everytime I went against my instinct I was always wrong. There wasn’t a time where my second thought was correct. How come we go against our “gut reaction” where the gastrointestinal tract sends hormones to your brain hence the name gut reaction)sometimes? Is it because we think we haven’t put enough thought into what we are thinking about?  The subconscious plays a huge role in our decision making without us noticing. The orbitofrontal cortex one of the lesser understood regions of the brain responsible for decision making. The orbitofrontal cortex isn’t one of the largest  regions of the brain, does the structure have to do with the cognitive processes that occur in the brain? Yes the rest of our brains due to evolution we developed a frontal lobe now. We have little understanding of our decision making and the spontaneous  reactions that we make all the time. We are programmed to avoid danger but not programmed correctly to always make the right decision. Retail companies help us mostly to make the wrong decisions.They use subliminal messages that drill into consumer’s mind. They promote these little rituals with their products like Corona with a lime wedge on the side of the glass. What does this have to do with first instinct? We know they are taking our hard earned money and buying items we don’t need. Remember September 11th 2001 of course you do you were probably shopping on the 12th. As a way to combat stress we shop and make bad decisions all the time. Our first instinct should kick in and tell us we are doing something wrong. It doesn’t unless we educate ourselves more to make positive decisions. Remember your first instinct is your subconscious telling you it’s right don’t go against it.