Listening to Instincts

I am paranoid about driving in the snow. Therefore, when a winter storm watch was being announced yesterday for the very time I would be driving from Salt Lake to Provo for my education law class, I started to get nervous. Because it didn't look like snow--nor did it feel like snow--I kept checking the weather watch which kept reporting a 90%-100% chance of snow for the very times I would be on the road.

I had a gut feeling that I could get to class and get home before the snow came, in spite of what the weather watch was saying, but I didn't trust that feeling. I kept checking the reports because I wanted the reports to confirm my feeling before I made a decision. They never did so I didn't go.

For the first time in my life I actually wanted it to snow so my decision could be validated. As it turned out, my instincts were correct. It didn't snow until hours after I would have safely been home.

My husband reminded me that I was making the best decision I could, based on the information I had even though that information turned out to be incorrect. That's true. Yet, I discounted a very important source of information--my own instincts.

There will be times when the facts won't back up what our instincts are telling us as to what our diverse learners need, but we shouldn't discount those instincts or always wait until the facts back up what we feel. After all, our heart can tell us things our minds will never know.