"Listen to your inner voice. Trust your intuition. It’s important to have the courage to trust yourself."
Making life decisions can be a difficult process, but trusting your intuition can make it easier. Everyone has an inner voice that speaks to them, guiding their decisions in life. Learning to trust your intuition can lead to living a more fulfilled and meaningful life. In this article, we’ll explore the art of trusting your intuition and making life decisions.
The first step of learning to trust your intuition is becoming aware of the signals it gives you. We all have our own unique ways of connecting with our inner voice – some may get strong gut feelings, others might hear a quiet whisper in their heads or feel a tugging sensation in their hearts. Paying attention to these subtle signals can help you make better decisions.
Trust is also an important part of this process – once you become aware of the guidance from your inner voice, it’s then up to you to decide if you trust it enough to act on it or not. However, with practice and patience, even the most skeptical among us can learn to develop a deeper understanding of our own intuitive wisdom and use it when making decisions in our lives.
Defining Intuition
Intuition is the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning. It is similar to instinct, but involves a deeper level of understanding and insight. It is an inner knowing or a feeling that something is true without having any tangible evidence to back it up.
That is what it looks like. But what is it? Intuition is communication with your higher self, your guides, and/or the Universe (God, Source, etc.). It takes time to learn how to communicate with your higher self and then more time to learn to trust it.
Intuition often manifests itself in the form of a gut feeling or a hunch. Some people hear a voice or have a dream that informs or advises them on what to do. However, intuition comes to you, by paying attention to our inner knowing, we can gain insights into situations and make decisions more in tune with our authentic nature or that better reflects where we are going with our lives.
Using intuition to assist with decision-making can help us become more aware of our deepest truths or yearnings. So many people make life decisions based on what they think they should, based on other people’s perception of them and their life.
They compare themselves with their peers, family, and community and weigh things like perceived success, fitting in to their community, and the idea that there is a “correct” decision to be made.
As we become more attuned to our intuition, we can use it as a tool to guide us in developing our unique potential. Evolving into the person we came here to be, not another carbon copy of our peer group.
Tune into Your Inner Voice
Listening to your inner voice is key to building trust in your intuition and allowing it to guide your life decisions. It can be difficult, however, to manage and discern what your head tells you, what your heart feels, and what may be anxiety. To truly get in touch with your intuition, it’s important to quiet your mind and listen.
If listening to your inner workings feels hard, I encourage you to begin a mindfulness practice. Learning to be present in the moment by being still while focusing on your breath. When thoughts start to creep in, acknowledge them without judgement and then let them go.
You’ll find that as you practice this daily, you’ll become more aware of subtle shifts within yourself. This will help you recognize the difference between strong desire, fear and anxiety, and true guidance. Only then you will know when it’s time to take action or when it’s best to remain still. Guided meditations can be helpful in both developing your practice and tuning in to what your body is telling you.
Learning to Trust Yourself
Trusting your intuition to make life decisions is something that can be developed and improved over time. Empaths often struggle to trust their own thoughts, ideas, and intuitions because family and friends tended to override their instincts when they were growing up. It takes intention and conscious effort for you to acknowledge the importance of your own opinions and feelings, rather than relying on others to tell you what to do.
The only way to learn to trust yourself, is to begin. Set the intention to tap into your inner wisdom and intuition, wait for guidance, and act on it. However, it is important to start off with decisions that do not have any big consequences. You are getting your feet wet and learning how you hear, feel, or know your intuition when you experience it.
The next step is learning how to tap into this inner wisdom. A good place to start is by being mindful of your feelings and checking in with yourself often throughout the day. Take note of any gut reactions, strong emotions, or notion that come to you from out of the blue when presented with a situation or decision.
They may be indicators of what your intuition is trying to tell you. It’s also helpful to practice listening to your inner voice from a neutral place without editing, judgment, or criticism. Instead of discounting what it has to say, take a few moments to sit quietly and think about why this feeling may be coming up for you at this time.
Once you have a better understanding of how your intuition works, it will become easier for you to rely on it when making life decisions. Although there will still be times when other external factors need to be taken into consideration before making a decision, connecting with your own inner wisdom provides valuable guidance for navigating difficult situations and choosing the best path forward for yourself.
A Note About Intuition and Trauma
When developing your intuition with the intendion of living an intuitive life, it is crucial that you understand your triggers. Triggers are events or situations that often cause strong emotional reactions in you. It may be helpful to keep a journal or use meditation to observe the emotions and responses that arise when triggered. Once you are aware of the triggers, it is easier to recognize them before they lead to impulsive decisions or responses.
Trauma can cause strong reactions in us that may be confused with intuition. It is important to know that intuition is never strong, loud, or insistent. It is quiet. A gentle nudge or whisper. If you are feeling strong reactions such as anger, fear, or anxiety, do not act on those “intuitions” until you get some perspective.
You can ask a trusted friend for their impartial thoughts. Or you may take some time to journal about your feelings and question them. What is underneath your strong reaction that may be affecting your judgment? Finally, you can always sleep on it and allow some time to process those feelings before you seek a definitive answer.
Mastering your intuition also involves understanding what motivates you and recognizing areas of personal growth that need to be addressed. This requires listening deeply to your inner dialogue and engaging in meaningful reflection about what matters most in life.
Making time for introspection can help you become more attuned to yourself and allow for a deeper understanding of your needs, desires, and intentions. When done regularly, this practice can provide clarity on important life decisions and build trust in yourself.
Tips for Improving Your Intuition
Having a better understanding of the pros and cons of basing decisions on intuition can help you operate more intentionally and effectively. But how do you go about improving your ability to access your intuition in the first place? Here are some tips that can help you tap into your inner guidance system more easily.
The first step is to become more mindful of your thoughts, feelings, and impulses. It’s important to pay attention to even subtle changes in your body as they may be clues that something meaningful is being communicated from within.
The next step is to practice meditating or taking part in activities that encourage quiet reflection, such as yoga or journaling. These techniques can help sharpen your awareness and make it easier for you to recognize when an intuitive thought or emotion arises.
Finally, it’s important to trust yourself and any insight that comes up during these moments of stillness. You know yourself better than anyone else, and your body, mind, and spirit can help guide you to those answers that lead you to a fulfilling life. If something feels right, don’t ignore it!
Even if the outcome isn’t what you expected, trusting yourself will lead to greater clarity over time. With consistent effort, these tips can help you become more attuned to your intuition, so that when you are faced with life decisions, you have a clearer sense of direction.
In Conclusion
We can master the art of trusting our intuition with practice. By learning to listen to our inner voice, we can gain more confidence in ourselves and make decisions that are aligned with our true values. Practicing self-awareness and understanding how our trauma can skew our intuition will help us to become better at trusting ourselves.
Finally, following some simple tips, such as taking time for self-reflection, journaling, meditating and being mindful of our thoughts, can help to significantly improve our ability to tap into our intuition. When we learn to trust ourselves and use our intuition as a guide for decision-making, it can help us lead a more fulfilling life.
Later this year, I am offering a 5-week online group called Light & Shadow: A Mindfulness Circle for Intuitives for those who are looking to develop their intuition. If you are interested in exploring your own intuition and would like to be supported in the process, this may be for you.
