Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without proof, evidence, or conscious reasoning, or without understanding how the knowledge was acquired. Sometimes in life, when we have tough decisions to make, it requires us to lean into our intuition. But how do you identify when your feeling intuition, or some other emotion like anxiety or fear? To simplify decision making and increase your ability to become more intuitive, you need to trust your gut. Here’s how to better understand what your gut is telling you.
Learn to Differentiate “Intuition” and “Anxiety”
Sometimes anxiety can be at the root of what you think is your intuition. If you’re not careful in deciphering between the two, your “gut feeling” may lead you in the wrong direction. To learn the difference, pay attention to your fears. Uncovering your intuition might mean asking some questions. Are you turning something down because you’re scared? Or are you saying no because “no” is what you truly want?
Overcome Your Emotions
Highly charged emotions often cloud our judgement. Anger, resentment, and jealousy are closely tied to anxiety and worry. Any decisions or choices that are made while in an emotional state are rarely the correct ones. When your intuition is clouded by emotion, it’s impossible to make the best decision. Next time your making an important one, ask yourself if you’re in the right emotional state. If you are, hold off on any important decisions. Eventually you’ll learn to identify and ignore emotional reactions.
Identify Your Thought Patterns
Masters of intuition are mindful of themselves and their own thought patterns. In order to become more intuitive, try paying more attention to yourself. A great way to do this is to spend time in meditation or reflective prayer. During your quiet time, worries may pop into your mind. However, if you learn to identify unwanted thoughts, you’ll be able to understand your true desires without self doubt.
Alter Your Thought Patterns
While identifying your negative thought patterns is helpful, it’s also important to change them. So many of us make decisions based on what other people think or feel. Your goal should be to make decisions based on your own understanding and intuition, not the opinions of others. Only you know what’s best for you. To become more intuitive, start changing your thoughts from “What do others want from me?” to “What do I want?”.
Understand Your Goals
When it comes to the really big decisions, understanding your intuition can be challenging. Do you want to take the higher paying, but higher risk job, or stay in a more comfortable environment that you’ve grown used to? You think you want to make a career move… but aren’t quite sure. Taking time to sort out your unique goals and beliefs can make that decision easier.
Watch Out For Red Flags
If you’re running into bad decisions head on, your not listening to your intuition. Pay closer attention to red flags. This holds especially true when it comes to romantic relationships. Overly jealous, demanding, or abusive partners can be early warning signs that you should absolutely be paying attention to. Chances are if you feel something is wrong, it probably is. That would be your intuition talking. The more you begin to listen to that little voice inside you, the more intuitive you’ll naturally become!