Mandy is our candlemaker. She came to me and asked if I would come and examine a batch of wicks that had been delivered. She had just made a test candle and was about to burn it to make sure the wicks were working correctly.

She said, “the wicks don’t feel right” and would I look. The package came from our usual supplier and contained 2000 wicks. I examined the wicks; they felt normal to me. I compared them with one from the previous batch, and it appeared the same. To my eye and touch, there was no difference.

She maintained her opinion that it wasn’t right, and would I double check with the supplier. She pushed me, and I initially resisted. I was busy, and it meant stopping and putting in a call to our supplier. She was insistent and, in the end, I went and phoned them.

The supplier went away to check. The answer came back that the order had been incorrectly put onto their system for a wick that was one size smaller than the one we normally use.

Mandy’s feeling had been right. We had the wrong wicks. She saved us a big and expensive problem by trusting and backing her gut feeling. She felt something wasn’t right and pushed me into checking.

Is your gut telling you something too? Have you got that niggling feeling about something in your life?  Always, always trust your first gut instincts. If you feel something’s wrong, it usually is.