Getting Saved By A Gut Feeling: Global Stories of Trusting Your Gut

Some people believe there are individuals with psychic powers or believe in the powers of precognition, they are those who predict the future or sense danger. Personally, I find that idea purely imaginary because I am someone who values scientific reasoning, and I rely on evidence-based explanations.

Nonetheless, there are moments when something happens and we cannot explain why. These occurrences can challenge our understanding and leave us searching for answers. While I can appreciate why some people might be intrigued by these stories.  I'm not saying I believe in psychics but I get it why others might after hearing such stories.

Read on and feel free to choose the one that resonates with you

1. Meant To SAVE Her

I was 10 years old when I went swimming at a lake with my family and friends. Everyone was rushing about the picnic table grabbing food and I just got a weird feeling that I need to head back to the water.

I headed to the beach area where my 6 year old sister was drowning because she could not swim and went in too deep and she was trying to bounce her tiptoes in the water and came up maximum above the waterline with her head leaning back so she could catch a breath. I went ahead inside because she seemed too tired to come back up and I immediately ran and snatched her up.

2. Send This Man In Jail

When I was 15 years old, once while heading home from school a car was following me for a couple of blocks so I had 911 all ready to dial on my phone. That dude cut me off in a parking lot and tried to force me into getting in his car. I hit the dial, and told him the cops would be coming in any minute. On hearing that, he immediately jumped into his car and drove back. After this incident, I stopped walking home.

3. That's the guy

My husband is really friendly with everyone and when he was maybe 18 or so, some random guy was speaking to him and my husband got an off vibe, he spoke about Adult World to my husband, who he had just met. Anyway, fast forward a few years and I see a photo of him and it said he assaulted some boys that I happen to have gone to school with. I showed my husband his photo and he said, " that's the guy! "

Sometimes I have gut feelings for simple things like if I should or shouldn't say something.

My husband had a job that he was on the road a lot and if he drove far I would join as I love long drives, he had to go quite far but I decided not to go with cause my son wouldn't have been able to be strapped in as he was going in a truck, so I stayed home, when he got to the place, he left and the client told him to take the scenic route but he just followed the GPS and he got into an accident, he was driving slower than usual though, it was raining and there was a diesel spill so he slid. It was a horrible accident but he was unharmed besides whiplash.

4. How To: Save A Life

I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt. Once I taught my ex about 'How to drive on a gravel road, having my daughter in the backseat and I had a gut feeling to not do so. I usually follow my instincts and do so then. 

Of course my ex doesn't listen to me asking him to slow down and tops a steep hill at 45 where he lost control and the car rolled. I somehow managed to jump to the backseat and save my 18 month old daughter before my giant Thermaltake gaming pc (one of the huge old steel ones) hit her. What happened instead was it bounced off my head and flew out of the window with so much force to fly a good 50 feet down the road.

I am someone who slows down before hitting the range of a speed trap. Growing up, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, ALWAYS. Luckily as an adult it doesn't happen anymore.

5. Let Me Check If My Doors Are Locked 

Maybe it is the work of mine and my husband's gut instincts that work together. My husband works night shifts and we lived in an area where the crime rate, murders were rare and 'Don't Happen'. However, once when I was watching TV in the living room having to put kids to bed and also had a window to open if I heard any footsteps.  

It was quite rare for me to have people walk past my house because the neighborhood was set up as a grid and there was plenty of room between houses to pass through to the next street. Once the footsteps stopped it were as if the person didn't want to be noticed and that set me on edge.

I simply shut the window and decided to let go of my nightly smoke because I was creeped out by the situation. I put my kids to bed with me and locked ourselves in my room. I also dropped a text to my husband to explain what and why I was doing. Because he would not use the phone at work, I would assume he would be on a lunch break. After a couple of hours of sleep, I heard a knock on the door, and it was my husband. 

After he received my text, he had taken the night off from work. There was a man standing on our front porch fidgeting the lock when he came home.

6. Well That Shot Up Quickly 

Once I went on a date with a girl and my instincts found a weird vibe from her so I did not stay in touch with her. However, I found out that she stabbed her boyfriend two months later. 

7. To Me, He Sounds Like A Piece Of Sh*t

I met my ex's dad for the first time and he was friendly then because he kept joking. Suddenly, something just happened and it also created some sort of fear in me and I evidently remember thinking, 'I should never ever be alone with this man.' I felt stupid as I thought it was because I had just met the guy and he seemed normal enough. I hadn't experienced anything like this earlier and not something I had encountered before upon just meeting someone.

Later, after we split up, he went to jail for assault and later figured that he had been doing this to girls in the family as well. I never ignore my instincts ever, with anybody. For me, it's proven to be true more than once, sadly. There is a subtle awareness on how we pick up things being off in someone's demeanor, even though they don't say anything.

8. Imagine, What If I Stayed

One day, I was sitting in my bedroom when I had a sudden instinct feeling in the gut where it said, 'You need to get out of here. Right now' then there was a feeling of fear and dread that felt like someone was watching me. I decided to move out and went to my friend's place as I did not want to be alone then.

Finally, when I reached my house, I had been robbed. Things were thrown out with glasses broken elsewhere and a window was left wide open. Ever since then, I take my gut feeling seriously. 

9. Calling The Cops If HR Doesn’t Do Anything 

My shift was completed and I went to the lunchroom to get the lunch bag and noticed a co-worker sitting at a table continuously looking at the entrance (our lunch room has 2 entrances). Approximately around that time, my coworker (who is a girl that the guy really likes) was taking interviews for a leadership position. 

I had a bad feeling about being there as if he was waiting for her to come out. I found him a creep at work because he would also follow her, get pissed if people talk to her and also check her phone. Even though she has no interest in being with him and she's communicated that, he is still convinced that he has a chance.

I thought maybe I was overreacting so I went home. After 30 minutes, I had a gut feeling that I should head back and drive to her car and did so. After I got there, I saw that he was trying to get in her car from the driver's side when she was already in the car and was kicking him away from her and clearly it was not working. He looked at me angry and sat there for a few seconds until he realized that I wouldn't leave, so he immediately ran.

After he ran, she told what had happened and it turns out that he followed her so he could give her a hug and she refused to give one. She tried her best to move away from home but he constantly pulled her and I had 'saved her life.' I could not imagine what would have happened if I didn't show up.

He was harassing her for so many months and after the first scene, I had been trying to get hold of the HR and tell them about what was happening. So it turns out that I can say something to HR, but they need to have the person that's getting harassed to come speak.

10. I Think He Died

I was in high school when I worked at a coffee shop that was a few blocks away from my home. My home is quite close to a huge hospital as well. While growing up, my brother was sick and stayed home for quite a few days. So when an ambulance rushed by the coffee shop with sirens and lights going my first thought was, 'That is for my brother, I think he died.'

After 30 minutes, the phone rang at the coffee shop and it was my mother calling to ask when I could reach the hospital. And, I was right when I thought the ambulance was for my brother as it was going to my house because he died.

11. It Is Hard For A Princess To Survive Out There

In college, I was a birthday party princess. We would sing songs, dress up as a Disney character, paint faces, help with cake, and other party things. Once I was called for a party that began at 8 pm. However, it was not unusual in our industry but many Spanish speaking families party well at night. I pull up down the street and walk to the house dressed as the character Sleeping Beauty, my 'party box' of supplies came handy.

As soon as I saw the house, I felt something was not right. There were no cars, no lights on, no balloons. Against my judgment, I knocked on the door. Then suddenly came a creepy man in mid 50s who answered in jeans and a dirty t-shirt saying, 'The party is around the back.' I glanced at home and booked it as fast as I could while holding a box, wearing a ballgown, and being mildly crippled to begin with.

I ran straight towards my car, locked the doors, floored it to a 7-11 and called my boss. The 'party' never enquired about what the princess was and nobody asked for the deposit. My boss called the police, although non-emergency I am not sure if anything happened there but I for sure know that there was no 'party' in the house.

12. Liver Anniversary!

I was 17 years old when I felt sick and had a failing liver. All I would get up to do was vomit and puke in the sink. I went to rinse and I thought for some reason to turn the light on. Glad I did so because I saw the sink was full of blood. If I went straight up and went to bed to sleep then  that burst esophageal varices would have kept bleeding and I'd have died of internal bleeding.

Fortunately, the blood I saw proved the fact that my liver was never shot and they agreed for a transplant for me. After waiting for two years, I received a Liver. This September 7th it is going to be my 7th Liver-versary!

13. Getting Crap From The Coach For All The Right Reasons

During my play in colleges' baseball career, the best play was when I was rounding second base without any prompting on routine force out at first. I don't recollect why I did so but I did it because I just felt right. The 1st baseman overshot his throw by over a mile and scored and gave our team a one-run lead for the last four innings. I received a lot from the coach for going rogue but screw it, my GUT was right.

14. Super Dangerous ATV Driving 

When we went to New York on our weekend upstate trip, we entertained ourselves by riding an ATV around an off-road track that the neighbors had built. On the last day of the trip, my SO said he would take one last spin on it and I knew something terrible would occur.

After I told him how I felt, I was dismissed and as he headed out I said, 'Just promise me that you would not drive fast because it is the last ride... I don't trust it and I think you will lose control'

Fortunately, it was his ankle that suffered after he drove it fast and lost control. The scary bit was finding him on the trail, against the tree leaning backwards. Luckily it was just his ankle.

15. Not All Superhero Wear Capes

Me and my best friend were at a wedding when we were wasted at the after party. The set up was of an outdoor wedding with tiki torches and a cute little bar with a lot of things. My best friend was stumbling when you lunged from one place to another instead of taking steps. 

When I turned my back to get another drink, I don't know what made me turn around and grab him for some reason as I grabbed him around the waist and righted him - he was falling backward directly onto a tiki torch that someone broke in half and left sticking out of the ground. I saved him from being impaled.

16. Not Bumping Into Car Robbers 

When I was walking while returning from my girlfriend's house, I always cut through a hedge in my garden to reach home and did this multiple times. Once, for some reason I took the long route thinking it was a nice night out walk and I have no idea why I did that. 

When I reached a point where I would usually exit the hedge, a person was robbing a car and I would have come face to face and might have got a fright thinking I was jumping him with an object which he had to open the jammed car. I credit my gut instinct because my subconscious mind must have sensed a feeling.

17. Thank God, It’s Illegal Now 

Me and my wife are first time buyers who are willing to start a family and recently signed a contract for a $200,000 house. I reached the office a day prior to the sellers, before they would sign the closing papers and for some reason I felt uneasy and sick for the day and also looked for the house on the internet again and did some calculations. Hence, I could find out that the man in charge added the Mortgage and left a 'fee' which would have increased our payments by $200, if only I did not check.

18. What A Creep 

My wife's best friends' husband is someone I disliked because I got a 'weird vibe' because I felt he was dishonest. My wife felt I was cold towards him (maybe because I was not interested in hanging around with him).

Later we found out that he was married earlier (which he never spoke about to my wife's best friend), he was also removed from ROTC for failing on the physical and mental standards. He also was seeing someone during their engagement and during their 'marriage' as well. All in all, he seemed like a dishonest person with mental issues (maybe sociopath or psychopath).

Since then, my wife gets a gut feeling when I meet them for the first time. I have been proved true many other times in my life as well. In conclusion, I started paying 'heed' to my instinct and feeling.

19. Hearing My Inner Voice, It Knows The Truth

When I first met my ex, something within me said, 'Promise yourself you will never date him.' I don't know why that thought occurred and I did not even speak to him, I just saw him right across the room. 

With time though eventually I got to know him after a few months and brushed away my gut feeling and asked him out. The relationship had a great beginning and soon after it became awful because he was emotionally abusive. The relationship lasted a year and a year-and-a-half long train wreck that left me broken and feeling used.

The break up was the worst as it was very messy and it lasted months. Not sure what caused my gut to tell me to not date him but I wish I went with my gut.

20. Not To Throw The Warning In The Wind 

Once, While I was driving to work, I felt terrible and freaked out thinking I would die. It felt horrible because my toddler was in the car. Although I later dropped him off and everything was fine until then but I still would get rid of the discomfort feeling.

When I was 5 minutes away from my work place, I slowed down a bit to stay alert and sat through a green sign instead of taking left. Meanwhile there was someone who honked behind me but I just felt like I could not turn.

After a few seconds, there was a speeding truck straight ahead (which crossed the double line to illegally pass and was on the wrong side of the road). He went by flying during the red light going at least 50 mph. If I would have taken the left that day when the signal was green, I completely believe I would have died that day.

21. Staying Cautious On Dirt Road 

When I drove back roads all my life. It was 5 miles of dirt road between the pavement and my house. I knew them all by heart, bump by bump, turns, frost heave. One night while heading home, I had a bad instinct about driving the stretch of road that went down hill. 

When I reached halfway, there was a sharp right and I slowed down and went at my pace. 100 feet before the turn, I saw some skid marks which led a 4 wheeler off the road and hit a tree. The man was still on it with the helmet, no pulse. I immediately called 911 and answered questions the police asked. I have never driven down that route since then.

22. The Gun Was Loaded 

While playing with my friend in a paintball battle, we both finished our ammo. We were simply shooting in the air for the equipment to use the CO2. He removed his mask and I was about to shoot in the general direction around his face and then I had an instinct of 'What If'. And luckily, when the next shot came with the ball out. I thought to myself I could have shot his eye.

23. Deadly Deers In North America

I was driving normally but suddenly slammed the breaks for a deer and went straight ahead for 2 miles.  I saw the stop sign pretty far away and my gut feeling said I should maybe slowly approach it. I let go of the gas and glided myself almost all the way there, slowing from 60 to 20, I finally tried to put brakes, and my brakes were totally out and I had the veer off into the field. 

Thank God I did so because it was a highway crossing road and I might have gotten injured or got killed if for some reason I did not slow down so much before it.

24. Standing Is Good For Health 

There is a bus station near my school and there was a bunch under a street light with signs which were hung using chains. I stood while waiting for the bus to arrive but it was an exhausting day for me so I decided to sit down on the bench. The wind blew quite fast so I got up because the fear in me said the signs would fall on me. 

When I worked away, a middle aged woman sat on the bench and the sign fell on her head heavily injuring her. My gut said it isn't safe and it was true so if your gut tells you something isn't safe, it's probably true.

25. Saved Myself From ‘Good Times’

When I was around 19 years old, I used to hang around with guys who were troublemakers. I hung out with them only because I could smoke with them. The guy I met everyone thought was someone I knew when I was younger and he was kind of the ring leader.

One such party night at his apartment, he showed me a bunch of DVD players stacked up which he stole off a truck or so. Usually, we would smoke but this time it was OTT and my instinct told me I need to get out of there. Few days later, I found out that later at nigh, cops showed up because of a noise complaint and everyone who was there had been arrested. My friend, the "ring leader", got locked up in prison for years after that. If I had stayed, I would have been arrested too. I seriously dodged a bullet. I never hung out with people like them again.

26. My Mother Killed My First Pet 

When I was 6 or 7 years old, I had a pet hamster that was a dwarf and I named it Sally. She developed a large tumor in her armpit that grew to be as large as a marble when the hamster itself was only about an inch and a half long. I loved her but my parents didn't believe in taking such small animals to the vet because they are more disposable than larger pets.

One such night, I woke up crying as I had a huge fear and sadness, so I ran to my parents who were still up in the living room, also where Sally's cage was kept. My mum asked, 'What's wrong?' and I said I had a discomforting feeling and  I did what comforted me, opened up the hamster cage where Sally had her little bed. And there she was, cold, stiff, and somehow peaceful. 

I wasn't woken up by the absence of noise or anything, I truly was woken up by the sadness of her death even before I knew of her passing.

27. Safer Than Sorry 

I showed up to my last day of work at an upscale restaurant. The owner, who was entering a downward spiral of addiction had trashed the place the night before. It was my last day and I was used to his antics and was sure of cleaning the place all by myself.

He had always treated me like a daughter and has never given me a reason to think he would hurt me, despite being a jerk with a record of multiple assault charges.

After I left, the owner would show up in a frenzy and have a fight with the cook. I did not know what would have happened If I stayed.

28. It Was Quite Terrible 

This happened when I was in Afghanistan where I was a brand new Platoon Leader.  I got to my unit after BOLC and they basically let me know we were deploying.

Few months later, we were checking out a possible IED I was EOD, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, i.e. the bomb squad)  and a not so regular fight took place. At this point, we had the option to call QRF, shoot back from the vehicle turrets, or Leeroy Jenkins and have detail kick the door in and take them down. 

But something felt off. The shots were just kind of happening with no real sense of intent and the shots were landing so randomly that getting hit seemed to be a game of chance. I took this in for a second and I heard one of the squad leaders call out "SNIPER!!" and a direction.

In the end, the "sniper" was a guy (still a bad guy though) with a video camera and had been filming us and had a vantage of the roof where the shooter was. Basically, we were trying to be filmed while showing as if we were killing the kid.

Love how gut feeling saves lives.

29. Danger Of A Stranger 

When I was 6 years old, I went shopping with my mum in one of the biggest cities in India, Madras now called Chennai. I was zoned out and walked on not noticing my mother was behind me.

Randomly a dude asked me to come with me and I felt he was familiar but something seemed off. From what I can remember I asked him if he knew my mom and worked in her office, to which he said yes.

I had an off feeling so I didn't go with him until my mom appeared out of nowhere and starred at the guy. He then walked off, and she told me to never trust random strangers and said I could have been kidnapped. Maybe because of my childish gut instinct to not follow a completely random stranger is why I'm here today.