There are feelings that we all have that can guide us in making better decisions. When we follow these feelings, often called gut instincts, life seems to flow effortlessly. When we don’t listen to them, we often experience difficulties and unnecessary stress.
Recently I have learned to trust my intuition more. In fact, I have made some life changing decisions based on my intuition. But sometimes I get caught up in my head and the logical thoughts it forms and I find myself either doing something that doesn’t feel right and regretting it or stuck in indecision. So how can someone learn to trust their intuition more completely? I can’t answer that for you, but I can share the three questions I use to discern whether what I’m feeling in my body is my intuition guiding me to take action or not take action or whether it is an irrational fear, my inner critic, that tries to keep me safe from embarrassment or not being accepted by others.
For me when I get an intuitive hit that compels me to follow a certain path, I feel a sensation of freedom and lightness in my entire body at the thought of pursuing that action. When I have an intuitive hit that leads me away from a specific idea or action I feel a low level of apprehension and dread in the pit of my stomach. It’s a feeling of constriction, like being in a strait jacket.
These two sensations are my inner guidance system showing me what my next right move is or is not. When I follow these prompts, sometime subtle sometimes in my face, things in life fall into place and I achieve much more with less stress, struggle, and striving.
There is a third sensation that has created some confusion for me on what my next steps should be and that is fear and self-doubt. These come in the form of thoughts, not feelings (although these thoughts can quickly morph into negative emotions). Thoughts of lack, of being ostracized, of looking stupid, of making a mistake. These thoughts are often accompanied by questions like “what makes you think you can do that?” or “You’ll be a laughing stock.” When I hear thoughts such as these I center myself, go into my body for a deeper look and gauge how doing or not doing this thing makes me feel – light and free or boxed in and constricted. Then I make my decision based on the feeling.
I’m still learning to trust my intuition but with the awareness of how intuition shows up for me and how my self-doubt is purely on the level of thought. It’s getting easier.
How does your intuition present itself to you? What does it feel like? Where in your body does it show up? What thoughts come to mind when your inner critic is trying to tell you “You aren’t good enough?” Identify these feelings and thoughts, apply this technique, and watch your life start to flow much more effortlessly.
About the author: Patricia Brooks is a speaker, life purpose coach, and author of Growing Bold: How to Overcome Fear, Build Confidence, and Love the Life you Live. She is currently living in France and experiencing her dream.
Photo Credit: Austin Chan