Instinct is an incredible tool for entrepreneurs and artists. 

If you’re in the early stages of doing something that’s heading in the direction you intended, you’ll feel the momentum. Maybe you tell your friends about it, and they approach you with an opportunity to do business together. 

Or you’re tapping into a new source of energy; you’ve gained a new insight or perspective, figured out a way to express it through a project, and the energy propels you to the finish line.

Similarly, when you’re doing something that’s heading away from the direction you intended, you’ll feel the wall. You’re bumping up against it way too early; you have to rack your brain just to figure out what your next steps are. 

Your friends experience confusion or boredom when you talk about it, which means they’re not the right people to talk to—which means you’ll have to find a way to connect with a different audience, one that you’re not already connected with—or you’ll have to find a different way of talking about it.

(By contrast, your competitors will probably already be connected to your audience, so they can move faster than you. Not a dealbreaker, and not that it’s a direct competition; you’re just going to feel the edge they have against you.)

I’m not saying instinct is the only tool—or to be impulsive in evaluating it—just that it’s a really valuable aspect to consider. 

If you have to work too hard to get excited about something, consider that there might be a better project or direction for you to work on at this time.