Skip to content

And human instinct is ancient and reliable, utterly…

“And human instinct is ancient and reliable, utterly mysterious and possibly capable of great genius. I believe that refined, fluent instincts are a person's most valuable asset. My own instincts have repeatedly guided me against the grain of logic and probability. When I have trusted and followed…” quote by Augusten Burroughs
Download Open image
“And human instinct is ancient and reliable, utterly mysterious and possibly capable of great genius. I believe that refined, fluent instincts are a person's most valuable asset. My own instincts have repeatedly guided me against the grain of logic and probability. When I have trusted and followed their direction, they have never been wrong. I don't know how or why. But I know that every significant experience-positive or negative-sharpens them and makes them more accurate.”

Augusten Burroughs

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Instincts, though mysterious, become sharper with experience and can guide beyond logic.

In simple terms: Instincts improve with experience and can outdo logic.

Key Takeaway

Trust refined instincts.

Themes

intuition experience self-trust

Mood

curious confident

Type

advice reflective

When to use this quote

  • career decisions
  • creative work
  • life choices

Key Concepts

psychology personal development

Practical Applications

  • Reflect on past instinct successes
  • hone awareness

Questions to Reflect On

  • How have instincts helped you?
  • When should you question them?
A Different Perspective

Instincts can be biased; overreliance may ignore data.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Augusten Burroughs

Explore all 448 Augusten Burroughs quotes

More Accurate quotes

Browse all 847 Accurate quotes