The river that runs next to where I work was raging today. It was almost as high as the wall around the parking lot, and it flowed continually, fast and furious. A friend and I were walking by the cafeteria, getting our afternoon coffee, and we started talking about how someone could just get swept away in the river. And some people would let the water take them, while others would start to swim.This got me thinking about instincts. Instincts, by definition, refer to an “inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to a specific environmental stimuli.” It also could be a powerful motivation or impulse.

I believe that if your will is strong enough, you will try your hardest to survive, no matter what the circumstances are. The need to survive, to live, is often far greater than the feeling to submit to the current. Even if you can’t swim, those who follow their instincts to survive will find a way to make it to shore. Or at least stay afloat.

Maybe when we’re young, we form a certain response, an instinct, to the things that happen to us. Some people learn how to swim at an early age, while others don’t. But that doesn’t necessarily give the swimmers an advantage over the non-swimmers. Well, they may have a bit of an advantage. But both types of people will use the same instincts within them to get out of any situation.

We need to learn how to tap into our instincts, to listen to them, and to follow them. Instincts can guide us in our lives and lead us to where we need to go. They can help us out of life-threatening situations. And they can help us in our professional careers and personal hobbies. Instincts are powerful, and sometimes a bit unusual. But they’re very real. If we choose to go against our instincts, act out in rebellion, and do things we know we shouldn’t do, we run the risk of losing those instincts. And when we need them most, we won’t recognize them. And we will sink into the depths of whatever waters we’re caught up in.

Wherever you are, or whatever you’re doing, follow your instincts. And stay afloat.