Relying on your intuition can be crucial for survival or well-being, as numerous internet users have experienced firsthand. By heeding their inner voice, they steered clear of potential harm, whether physical or emotional, in crucial moments. Their stories underscore the importance of trusting our instincts.
- My dad was six. Dad heard a clap of thunder and immediately told the babysitter to call someone because «my dad’s been struck by lightning». My grandfather had, in fact, been struck directly by lightning while playing golf with my grandmother. The electricity entered his shoulder and exited through his ankle. My grandmother resuscitated my grandfather, and he lived to be over 90. © TerrifyinglyStable / Reddit
- I went to go eat at a restaurant with my toddler, but something said not to eat there. Decided to just go home and make a meal. The restaurant was on the news later because it caught on fire. © Unknown author / Reddit
- My wife and I were renting for a few years when we decided to take the steps to buy our own house. We had enough for a deposit and had a mortgage quote arranged. We went to look at a number of houses and found one that we really liked, so we decided to put our offer in. We were told that this was most likely going to be accepted, but they were going to wait a couple of days before deciding. That evening I sat in bed reading when I had a horrible feeling that something wasn’t right. The next day, I told my wife that I wasn’t sure about it and convinced her that we needed to retract our offer, so we did. The next two weeks were a nightmare. Within two days of pulling out of this offer, my wife was made redundant (totally by surprise) and she hadn’t been working at the company long enough to get much of a payout. A week later, our car broke down and was beyond repair. We really struggled for the next year or so and would never have been able to pay off a mortgage. We are in a much better place now, but we know that if I hadn’t had that moment we would have been screwed. © takemehomeunitedroad / Reddit
- Mom sat me down when I was eighteen, already in tears, proclaiming she had something serious to tell me. Being the sarcastic and nervous jerk I am, I turned and joked, «What? Is dad not my real dad anymore?» Welp, folks... © msffing / Reddit
- I worked at a fast food restaurant and I got an antsy phone call from my dad telling me to come home as soon as possible. There were storms on the way and he was nervous about the timing. I thought he was being paranoid until I got this really uneasy feeling as well. Every nerve in my body was telling me to get home RIGHT NOW. I pissed off the manager when I left without mopping the floors. I rushed home, and I had barely gotten into the door for two minutes before a tornado hit our house. Looking back on it, if I didn’t leave when I did, I would’ve been driving along the road the tornado followed, and I probably wouldn’t be here. I got written up at work for leaving without completing my tasks, but a write-up is better than losing my life. © Booner999 / Reddit
- I was with a large group of friends, including my brother, and we were playing man hunt outside at night. For those who don’t know, man hunt is just like hide and seek, but it’s outside and is a little more complicated. My brother and his friend decide to go into a snowmobile trailer to hide, and I told them I’ll hide under the trailer. Little did I know, the trailer was balancing on two wheels. As I was under the trailer, I suddenly got the worst feeling that I needed to get out of there. I can’t even describe the feeling, but I got out quick. Seconds after I got up, they made the trailer unbalanced by getting inside, and it crashed exactly where I just was. There’s no doubt I would’ve died in seconds. I stood there in complete shock because I couldn’t believe I was so close to death. © relatee / Reddit
- I’m working one morning and my fiancée is off. She texts me around 10 or 11, and she says she had gone out to breakfast with her family, and they bought her flowers and she was having a good morning. I was glad to hear that because she didn’t really get along well with her family. But the more the day went along, the more it all didn’t sound right. Later that evening, she was acting unusual, and she wouldn’t tell me what was going on, so I checked the cell phone account activity and learned that not only had she been texting and calling this random guy constantly, but she had been repeatedly lying to me. There were so many instances where she hung up with me and immediately called him and had lengthy conversations. I then pointed at the flowers that were sitting on my table in my apartment and asked if they were from him. They were.
That relationship ended right then and there. © andwesway / Reddit
- My grandparents were driving up a steep mountain road behind a logging truck, when my grandmother started having a mild panic attack. She just kept saying, «Something’s not right, pull over. We need to pull over.» So my grandpa did and settled her down. After a few minutes she was fine and they kept driving. A mile or two up the road, the load of trees had come loose and spilled off the truck. © MicMcKee / Reddit
- When I was a little kid, I stepped outside to walk home from my neighbors two doors over. I smelled what I knew was a bear, which are common where I live. If you’ve ever smelled a black bear, it’s not that different from a skunk, which is what my friend’s mom told me it probably was when I asked her to drive me home even though my house was literally right around the corner. The thing is, a skunk’s smell is strong, but doesn’t travel. A bear’s smell is more permeating
Begrudgingly, she drove me, only to see the bear sitting on my back steps outside the door I would’ve tried to enter my house with. Black bears aren’t that vicious, but my friend’s mom apologized immediately about not believing me. I could’ve walked straight into that thing at the age of 12. © WreckweeM / Reddit
- I was driving home late one evening, and I had the strongest feeling that something was wrong. At the time, this meant that I took the long way home because I thought my subconscious knew there’d be some speed traps on the turnpike. Next morning, it turns out that some driver caused a huge multi-car accident in the exact stretch of road I would’ve been driving on. I’m not a superstitious person by any stretch, but this is always something that’s made me wonder. © Yung-Thick / Reddit
- Got off the subway at night, there was one other person about half a block behind me on my route home. This is a totally normal thing, has happened thousands of times. Totally normal-looking guy, not even following me closely. I had a bad feeling. Such a bad feeling that, when I turned the corner on my way home, I broke into a dead sprint and hid behind a dumpster in the shadows partway down the street. By the time he came around the corner, I was well hidden, and could see him from my hiding place. As soon as I saw his reaction to the fact that I wasn’t there, I knew I had been right to hide. He started looking for me, muttering to himself, he went up and down the street, looked around corners, I hid and held my breath until he was gone. It was terrifying. I am so glad I had that sudden, inexplicable impulse to hide, and listened to it. © MissPredicament / Reddit
- We were on a trip with my family to a cousin’s wedding. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing but stayed quiet. Sent my best friend a message to let her know we were on the road, and it felt like a goodbye message. Two hours later, a llama ran onto the road and crashed against us, sliding through the left side of the car. A couple of minor injuries, but we were alive. Turns out we all had the same bad feeling about the trip but didn’t want to disturb anyone. © purplepurpurine / Reddit
These instances are just a glimpse of the many times people have been «saved» by their instincts. Here, we present more stories of individuals who were wise to heed their gut feelings.