Sixth Sense

I workout to lose weight.

I run to brainstorm.

I rehearse to do better presentations.

I read to stimulate creativity.

I draft plans to run better practices.

I take lessons to learn how to ski.

I don’t know how to train my sixth sense. I wonder if it’s possible to train something that there is no tangible evidence I have. What is a sixth sense? Paranoia? Anticipation? ESP?

Do you have a sixth sense? What do you call it? Spidy Sense? Little Voice? Inner Voice? Golden Angel? Personal Compass? Third Eye?

I usually refer to mine by my nickname. Herschel. As in Walker. As in a nickname I got a long time ago.

Seems to me recently my sixth sense is slipping. I’ve been caught off guard in a few situations. I don’t like when that happens. In fact, I hate it. It usually results in me creating a conversation with myself. Well actually with Herschel. You can probably imagine the dialogue. MH3, which is my professional nickname, giving grief to Herschel, my personal nickname. Wonder how Mark gets involved in all this. Not sure, third man in is usually a game misconduct penalty.

Having an active sixth sense is a good thing. In politics it can be anticipating what is bothering your consitutuents. In sport it can be anticipating where your opponents are headed. In life it can be feeling a loved one’s feelings before they are expressed.

Too much of a sixth sense can be a bad thing. You can end up second guessing yourself. Too much doubt creates inertia. A one man stalemate that will always stop you from succeeding. So a balance is needed.

That said, a sharp sixth sense is a saw that can be put to good use. Mine needs a bit of sharpening. I’m looking for ideas on how to fine tune it. Saying it out loud is the first step.