Unwrapping The 'Gift Of Fear'

Christina Eckert, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- How often do you pay attention to that nagging feeling you get in certain situations? It turns out there may be some truth to the idea that your subconscious can lead you to make smart choices and sometimes save your life.

Jason and Missy Metzger have the picture perfect family, but there is one snapshot of an October day 12 years ago that they still remember like it was yesterday.

"Was just a normal day, maybe a little bit of mist in the air," Jason said.

"We were going to Fargo for a meeting," Missy said.

The family was planning a 100 mile trip.

"For some reason I just looked down at my feet and I thought, there was just an ever so slight bit of snow in the air," Missy said. "We took off and about 30 minutes in, it happened.

What happened was life-changing.

"We came across the bridge, and I felt it break lose," Missy said.

"I remember it kind of overcorrected a little bit, and I recorrected it again," Jason said.

"We swerved a few more times and then rolled five times in the ditch," Missy said.

The car was destroyed. Missy was unconscious with a dislocated shoulder, a broken jaw and cuts and bruises everywhere. Jason suffered a broken collar bone and several broken ribs. But even as bad as they were, Missy said she remembered something had happened just moments before the wreck.

"It was just a gut reaction, an instinct that I needed him to put his seat belt on," Missy said.

And that instinct may be what saved their lives.

In the book "The Gift of Fear," author Gavin De Becker said all too often, people ignore that nagging feeling, that instinct or fear that something is wrong. He said that intuition can not only save lives, like in the case of the Metzgers, but it can help predict the behavior of violent people.

That's something Police Officer Todd Strader does every day as he patrols the streets of Edmond.

"There's been situations where I stopped and waited for backup because something just didn't seem right," Strader said.

Strader said he had advice to others when they have that feeling.

"I would say listen to it. Obviously, it's there for a reason. I look at it this way, how many times have you said, 'Wow, I'll never do that again.' And some people aren't lucky enough to have a second chance," Strader said.

Missy and Jason said they know they have a second chance just because they listened to their intuition.

"The law enforcement we talked to said it was just amazing that we survived," Missy said.

"There's absolutely no reason why she would have had to say that to me. We'd been everywhere together. We'd driven thousands and thousands of miles and never, not one time has she said that me," Jason said.

"I have no idea why I told him put it on, but we've been married for 12 years now, and I'm very thankful that I did," Missy said.

According to the book "The Gift of Fear," there are several ways to know when your instinct is probably right. In his book De Becker wrote: "Intuition is always learning, and though it may occasionally send a signal that turns out to be less than urgent, everything it communicates to you is meaningful. Unlike worry, it will not waste your time. Intuition might send any of several messengers to get your attention... by thinking about these signals with an open mind when they occur, you will learn how you communicate with yourself."

De Becker noted the following emotions as the messengers of intuition:

• Nagging feelings
• Persistent thoughts
• Dark Humor
• Wonder
• Anxiety
• Curiosity
• Hunches
• Gut Feelings
• Doubt
• Hesitation
• Suspicion
• Apprehension
• Fear

Get more information about the book here.