Just feel it

I’m a big believer in feelings. I was a book-smart kid, but I always relied more on the way a situation made me feel, rather than what I logically observed. Nowadays, it’s called “intuition,” and it’s mostly viewed (in casual conversation) as just another way of being smart.

I utter the sentence “I had a feeling” at least once a day, and it’s always about the weirdest things. It happens so often, it doesn’t even surprise me anymore. I’ll answer the phone at work, and just before I touch the receiver, I’ll think “I bet it’s So-and-So” out of the blue, and I’m usually right.

So, here’s the worst part…in what area of my life does intuition decide to be most accurate? In practically any matter to do with my sports teams.

I’m not saying it’s so accurate that I can predict scores. That would be silly. But most days, I wake up on the day of a game, and I have a general feeling about how it’s going to go. Nothing definite, no injuries to report before they happen. Just sort of a big, cloudy splotch of paint on the blank canvas of the upcoming day. I can never even be sure what color it is, but once I know it’s there, I can’t ignore it. I only know how it makes me feel.

This is why another playoff exit by the Penguins doesn’t surprise me. I had a feeling about it before the series against the Rangers even started. Coupled with what I’ve seen since the summer of 2009…we all knew it was coming. And if you claim that you didn’t, you haven’t been paying attention to the facts, let alone your own gut feelings.

But enough about that! I’m not a sports blogger. I’ll write about people, but not their athletic performance. My own life is complicated enough. A little selfish? Maybe…but what else does a person have? When you can’t logically predict which direction your life will take from one day to the next, relying on the weird feelings you get from (seemingly) nowhere is probably the best thing you can do. It may help you when you least expect it.