What do you think about following your impulses?

I turn em loose. Screw it.

I’ve learned to stop and say ‘whoa’, do I really want to do this? My impulses have gotten me into lots of trouble in the past.

I am quite impulsive. I think there are times when that is okay and others when self-control is the wiser option. It really does depend on the context. I have the impulse to do something fun and non harmful to others – go for it. I have the impulse to tell my boss he is a complete dick and I won’t take it anymore – not so good. So, with the former I will continue to be impulsive but where my impulsive judgement can do me or others harm, I try to reign it in. (I don’t always succeed).

I think historically we have expected women to be more compliant and this may temper their impulsiveness. I don’t think that is so true now.

Thank goodness one of the first things people learn is to control their impulses. I would hate to see everyone jumping up and down, screaming and crying and stamping their feet every time they don’t get their way, or hitting each other with little or no warning, throwing things at each other when ever they get an impulse, grabbing stuff without permission or any thought of consequences, biting when they get mad, and peeing and pooping everywhere, like dogs.

Tuts…I might be better off reining it in. Some already think I am way too superior :D

I used to always rein them in. I kind of have been using fluther as a place to just see what I really think. So I write and post it without allowing myself to stop anything. Whatever I think, I have to say it. It’s kind of like building courage to say things.

Sometimes I get into trouble, but it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. People seem much more accepting of my eccentricities than I expected. This has actually given me the courage to say more in real life. I dont’ say everything, of course, but it has opened a few conversations that never would have happened otherwise.

I’ve also been allowing myself to know what I know. So I can tell when someone is mentally ill now. In the past, I would never have said anything. I’ve been finding ways to check out this knowledge without taking huge risks, and have discovered that my sense is accurate.

These intuitions or impulses have been helpful to me, and I’m allowing myself to trust them more. Hardly taking big risks, I guess. I am testing it fairly thoroughly. But going with my impulses has not been something I’ve done in the past, so it is kind of nice to be able to allow myself to trust them, and use them more.

Some impulses are good and some aren’t. Learning the difference is the key thing, which is probably something we only get with experience.

I trust my impulses and usually regret it if I don’t follow them through.
I think women have a tendency to be more impulsive then men. Men seem more logical and my impulses rarely have much logic to them.

@Ela I don’t think all guys are logical and don’t follow impulses. I give in to them all the time. I used to hold back, but not any longer.

@Adirondackwannabe I agree that not all men are logical and don’t follow impulses. Unfortunately, most of the men I’ve met have been very logical and not impulsive at all.
I think the secret is to find a nice balance between the two.

@Ela I have an impulse and it could hurt someone, I pass on it. But if it could be fun, I go for it. The trick is identifying the difference

@Adirondackwannabe Why would you have an impulse to hurt someone? I could see where I would have a passing thought like ” I outts smack ya” but to me an impulse is much stronger and very different. It’s a strong urge, desire or need to do or say something. I’ll have to think about that. For me impulses can be harmful for sure, but they are more verbally harmful (such as opening my big mouth or saying something I wish I hadn’t) rather than physically harmful (such as physically hurting someone).

I would hate to hurt someone. I put the kibosh on those impulses. That’s what the thinking brain is for, I think.

@burntbonez omgosh… kibosh is such a fun word! it’s a skip around word! <kibosh, kibosh, kibosh>

All around the mulberry bush….