There are different types of intuition, such as insights, guidance, and “downloads” of information.
In this post, I will focus on the kind of intuition that shows up as a gut feeling or a quick and quiet (yet sometimes very persistent) knowing.
Most people experience this kind of intuition at some point, but many don’t trust it.
Intuition or the mind?
The easiest way to differentiate between intuition and the mind is that the mind often uses arguments, logic, past experiences, and other people’s opinions to make a decision.
Intuition on the other hand, is more of a gut feeling, a quick and quiet knowing, or a nagging feeling that doesn’t seem to go away.
Intuition doesn’t scream (most of the time), which the mind tends to do, and it doesn’t involve a lot of inner debate, which the mind often engages in.
Intuition is more instinct than intellect – and sometimes it goes against all logic.
An example
Let’s say you have been on several interviews for a job, and they offer you the position.
Everything looks good on paper -and your boss and new colleagues seem great. They all talk about how much they enjoy working there and how they would love having you onboard. So, you look forward to start the new job.
But when you are about to sign the contract, something just doesn’t feel right. You can’t put your finger on it because you can’t find anything on the outside (right now) that would cause that feeling of unease. But the feeling is there.
This is a moment when you have an opportunity to listen to your inner guidance system. You may not want to turn the job down right away, but it’s an opportunity to take a moment before you make a decision.
Many people don’t do that. Many of us have been trained to look for answers outside ourselves rather than to listen inward. So, relatively few listen to that gut feeling if they can’t see proof on the outside.
They brush the feeling off and take the job. And if the feeling is still there after they made their decision, they may seek external validation from others to confirm that what they feel is just nervousness or worry and that the job is a great opportunity.
If you take the job, you will probably see what your intuition tried to tell you once you start working there. It may not be a place that’s good for your health. So, your intuition was trying to warn you.
However, it can also be about something else. Maybe another opportunity that aligns better with your values shows up a week later (and your intuition was guiding you to that job). So, it’s also essential not to overanalyze or intellectualize your intuition. The key is just to listen to it.
Practice listening
The more you listen to and trust your intuition, the clearer it becomes.
When you have listened to it for a while, you often don’t have to question why you don’t feel good about a situation – or why you want to take a path that doesn’t seem like the best choice from an outside perspective.
You just know and trust it.
We learn from experience
It takes practice to trust our intuition – and we learn from experience.
So, sometimes, we also need to make decisions that go against our intuition to learn to trust it the next time.
*This post is my answer to two questions about intuition and inner guidance (from a Q&A on my Instagram).
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