Why instincts are real and shouldn't be ignored (following Seungri's Burning Sun scandal)
the case that cost former Big Bang's member reputation; BI & Lee Hi's Savior; D.P's 6-episodes; pivoting from Nadia Nasimuddin; knowledge transfer from H-Capital; Anger; 3RACHA paving way for LOUD
Ever heard the saying “a mother's instincts are correct”? Or that you should “always trust your gut instincts”?
You must have. Because they are very much real.
In a world dominated by science and rationality, often intuition gets shunned by the public. Science, facts, and rational thinking normally get the majority support since their pieces of evidence can be seen, counted, or projected.
Intuition, on the other hand, is unseen and 'blinded'. It relies on the nature of 'trusting our gut'. Without the backing of concrete resources.
But does a careful analysis weighing all fact-backed options more likely to give the correct answer?
Not necessarily.
What is intuition?
Intuition is a holistic sense that signs when something is wrong or right.
According to Leeds University research, intuition is a process whereby "the brain uses environmental cues as well as past experiences to make decisions."
I like this explanation too:
“Intuition can be described as having a ‘gut feeling or reaction’ or a ‘hunch’ that occurs before we have time to consciously think. Intuition usually presents itself as an ‘uneasy’ feeling that comes across us in a certain situation.”
On a personal level, intuition becomes clear when...
You can sense that 'something feels off'
As humans, there are times when we get these internal warnings going off in our minds and our souls, although we are unsure exactly 'why'. These trigger warnings can show that something is against our core values or something that would inflict harm onto us.
But what if we do not get these intuitive signals? Or what if the signals are there, but they're drowned by analysis-led answers? Or the internal buzzer sounds minute compared to our loud rational thinking?
So what happens when we are unsure of our gut feelings?
That's where our friends and loved ones come in. These people are there for a reason in our lives. They are the real people we know we can seek unbiased counsel from, as they are there to keep us in check, and to level with our demons.
In times our intuition is unclear, we should trust and listen to our loved ones' intuition.
When should we tune into our intuition, and in what scenario should we trust our intuitive powers?
To be honest, you know best. Because it is your very own gut feeling that is based on your moral compass. And each one of us has different compasses directing to various directions.
A real-case scenario that we can learn greatly about intuition is Big Bang's Seungri in the Burning Sun scandal. The aftermath of this case? Seungri’s sentenced to 3 years in jail due to his illegal business conducts.
So how does this case relates to intuition? TL;DR—the remaining members of Big Bang had earlier hunches about Seungri’s business ventures.
Without further ado, let's dive into...
Intuition scenarios to be wary of, in reference to Seungri’s Burning Sun scandal:
Your (& your loved ones) 'bad vibes' about somebody is a sign that should not be ignored.
Intuition plays a huge role in parenting.
As Seungri is the maknae1, it is only in the best interests of the mom of the group Taeyang, and father TOP, as well as the rest (GD and Daesung) that their youngest would be in safe hands wherever he may branch out post-Big Bang era.
Bigbang members warned Seungri on the bad vibes they got off the new people in Seungri's lives.
In TOP's own words in a 2017 show:
"While he has many good friends, some of the friends I get a glimpse of during our concerts worry me. I get the feeling some of them are by his side not because they like him but because of his title. The fact that Seungri plans to work with him worries me."
These people—GD, TOP, Taeyang, and Daesung—have been with Seungri through their lowest times. They're practically family, although bonded by the group.
And when it comes to family, same as parents, it is only a parent’s hope and wishes that their child would be safe hands growing up.
Be careful of the new people who entered your life during the time when you have fame, status, and power.
When you are at the top, you will meet a lot of people who are nice to you because you have what they want. It can be connections, power of influence, or money.
According to Seungri, in a 2018 interview,
“getting into business was one avenue I could explore without having to compete with the rest of the band members.”
His need to “prove himself” outside of Big Bang cost him to follow in the shade footsteps of these “business folks”.
Burning Sun accomplices were rather new in Seungri's life. He only dabbled in business since 2013, in comparison to his music career as a Big Bang since 2006.
And just because someone is an expert at ‘their thing’, following them can ‘feel safe’. But what if ‘following them’ was wrong?
In the position of fame or power, you will never truly understand the true nature of a person. In a toxic environment, surrounded by negativity, you tend to have clouded perceptions. Thus, it’s easy to be blinded by sleazy folks when you are motivated by greed.
When (and before) things spiral out of control, relying on your intuitive capabilities can help you navigate through a crisis
Within the span of 5 years (2013-2018), Seungri owned 40 Japanese ramen chains and numerous business ventures. Does it make sense for a person as influential and rich like Seungri to have a lot of businesses within that short amount of time? Not surprising.
But look at what has happened to Seungri now. 2021, he's found guilty and is sentenced to jail. He’s also no longer a member of Big Bang. He lost both: musical and business reputations.
What would the outcome be like if he really listened to what his hyungs2 said? Different.
Listening to your intuition can help you avoid unhealthy relationships and situations.
Ever experienced a time when you regret you didn't listen to your intuition sooner? Like "oh I should've picked up my son sooner." or "I should've gone back home to my hometown last week". These stories of regret are common among moms' on their children, and loved ones prior to the death of a family member.
We might not always realize it, but our brain is constantly comparing our current situation with our memories of previous situations. So when a decision feels intuitive, it might in fact be based on your years of experience, even if you feel it is baseless.
Our intuition is guided by our moral compass—the core that shapes us into the person we are today. A decision backed by facts is biased, upon other people's findings. And their findings, which can be wrong, may not fit in the situation we are currently facing.
The answers in life are not straightforward like A, B, C, or D as what we answer in exams. It can be X, Y, or Z—the little voice of intuition in you.
Intuition is very real, and every single one of us has it. It’s a natural process. The more we can tap into our inner compass, the better we are able to make sound decisions that support our best interests and others.
To steer our own ship, and to avoid unwanted trauma, we have to take charge by listening to our own soul, our truth, and what is authentic to us regardless of what society says. Trusting your intuition is the ultimate act of trusting yourself.
So, turn off the inner critic of your feelings.
Stop thinking!
And start feeling.
If you are still unsure about your intuition, think back on the times when you've made a decision based on intuition, vs on people's opinions of carefully weighed options backed by facts. Ask yourself, which of these situations have made you more fulfilled and happier? Or, has your intuition ever betrayed you?
& share with me with #thefarinsights
Current obsessions
The 4-minute melancholic love story that I needed from BI & Lee Hi's Savior music video
This video of a son’s presentation on requesting his parents to buy a PC — cool way of parenting.
3RACHA's guest appearance in LOUD
3RACHA’s hard work is now paying off. As they paved way for their juniors, creating a new dimension (teaching the pre-debut LOUD participants to do prop-dancing like them at only survival shows) and strengthening rap line in JYPE, gave me a great insight:
What is hard for you to execute now, can be a shining torch for the generations to come.
If you want to see whatever you're doing in the mass scene, or in your industry, do it. It may not make sense and pay off now, but 10 years or even 3 years down the road it will. Remember: the world is constantly changing and evolving.
Also, how they rearranged Back Door, and made it into LOUD x 3RACHA flavor, together with Chan changing the original lyrics from "you wanna come in?" to "you can come in"—as in its literal meaning to welcoming their hoobaes3 into JYPE… is touching, from a remediation perspective.
SKZ' things: Felix's ending fairy; first Mubank winning ceremony; Han winning ASC game & Bang Chan's snake dinosaur. & I did not know that Seungmin was an ASC host!
Wooden elements in this Japanese-styled architecture
Serious things
The importance of "the combination of close observation and insightfulness" in writing.
Knowledge transfer. A term that intrigued me this week via H-Capital’s episode (below).
Been hearing and seeing a lot of discussions going on about NFTs recently.
Recently finished
H-Capital with Balqis, featuring Mona Abdul Manap (in the thread below):
Ustaz Mizi Wahid's podcast with Nadia Nasimuddin.
Taught me a lot about not being afraid to pivot from your original idea and specialized knowledge (one I knew of its existence from Naval's tweet).
Nadia's late father's venture of selling bread prior to what he's known for today, and taking that ‘specialized knowledge’ into Dotty's, after setbacks of bringing in overseas franchises into the local market means: super-local market fit & specialized knowledge is everything.
Speaking of 'pivoting' from the point above, this short drama's "but most people make mistakes, by refusing to switch their decisions due to distrust or fear" quote got me.
Anyway, D.P is what I feel K-Dramas should be like in the future. 6 episodes. 16 episodes have been starting to feel like a drag for me.
Favorite episode: "That Woman". I wished there were further spirals between An Jun-ho (played by Jung Hae-in) & that woman because I’m a hopeless romantic but that's not up to me to decide. Also, it's a favorite because of U-Kiss Jun’s guest appearance.
P/s- I talked about the desire to know inside a person’s mind, inspired by Jung Hae-in’s other drama, A Piece of Your Mind sometime ago if you haven’t checked that out yet.
Elsewhere
Am surprised by the Q&A story responses to this anger post. I have strong feelings on anger that I want to explore more on soon, so feel free to DM/tweet me if you want to share about anything on anger, rage, and nagging.
Still exploring what is thefarinsights’ insta is growing into. & I'm not quite satisfied with the description. Let me know if you have a better way of describing what is becoming of TFI’s Instagram.
What’s for sure is that it complements the newsletter.
From Kitty City
'twas a week full of daydreaming, and sudden excursion to Kuching’s answer to San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge.
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Maknae: youngest in Korean
Hyung: older brothers
Hoobae: juniors