Your Instincts and gut feelings are mostly true – Trust them
I hesitate a bit to say that I’ve felt many times that my sixth sense is pretty developed and that I can often feel things to a great accuracy. No, I am not talking about psychic abilities but just general intuitive hunches about many of my situations. (Although I read somewhere that people born under the signs of Scorpio and Pisces are born with extra sensory perceptions, so may be it has to do with that I am a Scorpio). And every time I have ignored my instincts, I have ended up hurting or regretting afterwards. This inner voice is within all of us and most of us hear it but do not pay much attention to it.
In the online world, we are meeting new people and developing connections on a daily basis so it is all the more important to use discretion, stay alert and trust our instincts. On the Internet, all we know about some stranger is what he or she tells us and have no way of knowing if they are genuine, telling the truth or just trying to con us. I don’t mean to say we need to be paranoid about trusting others, but keeping our ears and eyes open, watching for the gaps in the information they provide can save everyone tons of misery, time, energy, heartache and many times even money! This is true whether you are dealing with someone on a personal level, in the Internet marketing arena, shopping or anything else you are doing on the Internet.
To reiterate why it is important to trust our gut and intuitions, I want to share with you a post that one of my very good blogging friends teeni wrote on how Appearances can be deceiving, in which teeni has provided links to stories and other people’s posts when some good intentioned and otherwise intelligent, compassionate people fell pray to online frauds. Teeni’s post stirred up some of my own emotions from a recent online experience in which I forced myself to trust someone despite having a very strong feeling that everything this person was telling me was a lie of some sort.
I am pretty careful in giving out my personal information to someone I have doubts about but upon finding this person was on a different continent, I sort of relaxed and gave out some information I shouldn’t have. Over time though, I couldn’t deal with deceiving, and clever conversations any more and stopped all contact. Now, this person didn’t do any harm to me and I doubt they are out to harm anyone but who knows? Pretending to be what you are not, you are playing with other people’s emotions and that is not forgivable. I was on guard most of the time and that did not sit well with this person as they showed frustration that I wouldn’t ‘open up’ with them but it goes to show how many of us are vulnerable and readily trust the outside world than our own selves. Like teeni points out in her post, a lot of people have self-esteem issues and this is their only avenue to get attention, by trapping innocent folk for their own benefit. So Be Careful.
Here are some more resources to check out on Internet Fraud
Would love to hear your take on this issue and if you know of any such incidents.
photo: Neil Phillips
Thanks for the link love, Pearl! It really is sad to think that this happens but it does. I’ve linked to your post from my latest post as well. While not wanting to make everyone paranoid, it IS good to remind ourselves every so often that we need to be aware and alert. :)
Teeni.. thank YOU so much for writing that post and bringing forth this issue.. It sure is sad that people have to be so devious.. I worry about younger people since most of the networks like facebook and StumbleUpon are open to just about everyone.. I hope more people read these posts and are aware of what’s out there..
hmmmm …very interesting post Pearl…
it’s easy to be too trusting…..
I think it’s a lot harder being suspicious of peoples’ motives..
that’s my opinion anyway…
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We should all learn to be more discretionary in our online dealings, especially be more guarded about giving away personal/credit card info.
Don’t put ourselves in a vulnerable position without an “escape route”.
Stories of scammers and fraudsters are quite often reported. I’ve heard of teenagers who committed suicide after being harassed by cyber bullies. That’s a tragedy.
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I love this pearl, it rings so true. Although sometimes I believe we have a form of ‘defence’ to stop us doing things that we think are scary, even though in reality they are actually very safe i.e. talking to a stranger in a bar, trying a roller-coaster etc.
Great post, stumbled!
Cheers,
Glen
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I am one of those people with self-esteem issues. I tried online dating once, but it seemed that men were looking for Barbie. I would meet someone who I had been emailing/talking with for awhile, and getting along with well, had lots in common, exchange pics, etc. I’d either find out they were fake, or they would never call me after meeting. I got to where I just would never meet them. When it got to be time to meet, I’d just cut off contact, because I was afraid of rejection. I never lied to anyone, and sent current photos, but I guess that there are some things that photos don’t show, because I had at least two guys tell me I didn’t look like my picture, then they never called again. I’ve met online friends whose pictures I’ve never seen, and they looked nothing like what I thought they would.
@Laketrees: It definitely is hard to start off not trusting someone, that’s why so many of the good hearted people in those stories got conned… was just a good reminder .. thanks for stopping by Kim..
@betshopboy: That’s just so damn sad Chee Wee.. teenagers are at most risk not having much experience
@Glen: thank you so much for stumbling Glen.. I think it’s easier to be careful in a bar than when you are talking to someone online from the safety of your home, that’s when you are most vulnerable if not careful
@Jade: Online dating is a tricky thing.. may be you can try meeting people in person in a public place so there’s no picture exchange dilemma.. good luck jade.. hope it all works out for you..
That seems like some pretty solid advice. I always ’suspect’ everyone until I’m proven otherwise. There are just too many people that feel taking advantage of others is acceptable to promote themselves…and that’s just not right.
Hell, I trusted my recruiter when I joined the Navy….the worst mistake of my life…too young and just too naive. Learned a real hard lesson, and it’s helped to make me less trusting.
Thank you US Military, you wasted my time.
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My husband recently had his identity stolen. They opened a credit card account, a bank account and got away with $13,000. Fortunately the credit card company has taken full responsibility and cleared the account but it is a warning call. We have no idea how they did it. The credit card never showed up at the house though a follow up letter did. I have really puzzled over it but it doesn’t hurt to use common sense and trust your gut instinct – as you encourage.
Thanks!
and in an online world, where it’s so easy for a person to fake an online persona, sometimes gut is all you have left. true… the internet makes it that much more important to be cautious.
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Pearl
Gut feelings are sometimes more truthful then we want to acknowledge. I know you read Mig’s latest post about the ad-scheme, and I as I told her, my gut feeling tolde me to stay away. She proved me right :)
Even on the internet, first impressions count. We should listen more to these ’stirrings in the belly’, although I always follow my personal rule: there’s a 1% chance I’m wrong.
A lot can be learned by simply observing what people write (reading between the lines) and how they write it. Like all other skils, practice makes perfect.
Theo (or Yinepu) :)
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Nice read…
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I agree. I go with my instinct most of the time, and it usually (not 100%, but a good percentage) turns out right. By the way, that picture of the Fox is cute.
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In quantum physics, one theory is that we are all connected by a single field. Its easy to see where this intuition comes from, if we are all connected. The important thing is to listen to it – too often we ignore our gut feeling.
Thanks, Tom (TRCoach)
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There is a rule that I follow that has stood the test of time. “Trust people till you are proven otherwise.” I may be fortunate or just plain dumb, there has so far been only one instance of some one taking advantage of my trust. I have made a lot of friends in real and blog world and that is quite a rate of hits and only one miss! On analysis, I am sure that most of us would find that the miss rate will be very low. That is nature teaching us lessons.
It is however quite right that one is careful on the internet as we are constantly being advised by various sources and circulating emails.
@Wayne: sorry you had bad experience!
@Data Entry Lady: Stolen identity is real pain in the neck. You can write to the credit card company and ask what was done, just for your record.
@kouji: right!
@TDMV: good example :)
@Dharmedra… hmmm thanks!
@Justin: That’s the idea! It’s a fox after all!
@TRCoach: yep.. I agree!
I absolutely agree about your 6th sense. I have been listening to mine with utmost care lately and I feel so much better for it. I am a Gemini – so I am constantly battling with the two spirits inside of me, and it’s hard stay focused; but when I get that feeling of, “stay back” or “caution” I listen.
It’s kept me from fraud, car accidents and losing a lot more than money.
Thanks for sharing,
-J
Intresting read. The cute fox was a great picture for your post.
Looks so cute, but in reality he/she is sleeping off a great meal of your cat.
That was the idea Other Mac :) welcome to my blog…
Great read Pearl. I totally agree. going with your instincts is key in life.
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I guess its all about whether or not you listen to your inner voice.
I always listen to it personally, but then only time I didn’t listen to it, I ended up in deep trouble.
I guess its all a scenario of what you want, sometimes you want something to happen and it really does!
With more experience I get more insight in the actions I am taking and what kind of outcome waits me. Listening to this gut feeling can really keep you above the troubles.
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I’m a great believer in listening to your ‘gut’ feeling, it is so often right. Having said that I feel initially you should approach each person/situation with an open mind, but if alarm bells start ringing, listen to them. Step back and think, sleep on it. So often things have resolved themselves in the morning. If not then the cold light of day should bring you to your senses.
There is no doubt that you’ve got to trust you’re intuition. But then you have to combine it with being rational at once. You can’t have blunders, just for the sake of being impulsive.
In my experience, often it’s my logic and rational thinking that hinders me from following my intuition. I’m not saying that rational thinking is bad, just when it conflicts with my intuition often the intuition is right.
I usually know what I should do and wish later that I would have done it.
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