Use your instincts.
Conscious thinking only uses a small part of your brain. This is because conscious thinking is expensive in resources. Your brain will try to optimize common tasks by 'hardwiring' them.
The 'conscious', decision making part of your brain will override your instinctive part. For example, if you feel angry at someone, your conscious brain will suppress the urge to attack or yell at them. The act of suppression alone is costly, and this is why you'll feel tired under strong emotions.
Your brain does store a significant portion of information in the subconscious of the mind. Driving is a common example of something very complicated, but most people who are experienced drivers can drive and park with little brain activity. It explains why some people are 'drunken masters'; they can do something extremely difficult with little concentration or sober thought.
The key here is that these habitual memories will be accessed on the right triggers. If you see an object moving quickly towards your head, your habits/subconscious/instincts will immediately load the motor controls needed to either move your head away from the object or try to catch it (depending on how you've trained it).
Your conscious brain will always try to override this. If you 'clear your mind', you'll find that the subconscious part will automatically move your body. This is what people refer to as their instincts. It's a useful skill to know when to suppress it, when to listen to it and how to switch between both.
A good way to exhibit your instincts is to play a trivia game. Once questions start repeating, you'll find yourself successfully answering questions you don't even remember. Sometimes you'll know an answer to a question you've never expected to. This is your brain search engine at work, digging up links to associated keywords.
Sleep also does a good job of rearranging (defragging) your memories, so make sure you get enough of it.
Source: Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 2011.