Lately, the question, “how to follow your intuition?” is on everyone’s mind. It’s like people all over the world have become more aware. Nobody wants to make decisions based on just their conscious mind.
And if you’re one of them, that’s great! Because your eagerness to follow your intuition will help you heaps in life!
After all, intuition is like a ninja decision-making process happening in your brain. It uses all your past experiences and little hints from yourself and the world to make quick decisions.
Want to know more? Stay tuned!
How To Follow Your Intuition? 18 Ways
Intuition is like your brain’s secret messenger. It sends signals from the undercover part of your mind to the part that’s wide awake.
That’s why sometimes it’s tricky to trust or pay attention to. It’s like having a personal guide nudging you toward your best self.
The catch? Well, it’s up to you whether you want to tune in and listen to your inner superhero. So, what’s it gonna be?
Here are all the ways to follow your intuition.
1. Learn To Differentiate Between Gut Feeling And Fear
Fear is often associated with bodily sensations like tension, panic, or desperation. It manifests as pushing energy that pressures you to choose based on avoidance of threats, rejection, or punishment. Self-critical thoughts urge you to hide, conform, or compromise.
In contrast, intuition carries a pulling energy. It guides you toward choices aligned with your best interests, even if it involves taking risks or proceeding at a slower pace.
Excitement, anticipation, ease, and contentment accompany intuitive decisions. Physically, gut feelings induce relaxation, and the inner voice resembles that of a wise mentor.
2. Develop Intuition Through Small Decisions
Hone your intuition with minor decisions. Choose outfits without overthinking or speak up in meetings.
Take quick, decisive actions with minimal consequences to build comfort in using intuition. This enhances distress tolerance and enables emotional regulation during hard times.
3. Roleplay Outcomes To Know Better
Experiment with decision-making by role-playing potential outcomes. Act as if you’ve chosen one option for a few days, observe your thoughts and feelings, and then switch to another option. Simulate outcomes to get insight into your true preferences.
4. Align With Core Values
Identify your core values, such as freedom, diversity, stability, family, or calmness. When faced with indecision or agitation, fall back on these values to gain clarity.
Reflect on your top one to three values when struggling with decisions to move closer to alignment with your core principles. Resolve internal tension and break free from mental loops to follow your intuition.
5. Embrace Snap Judgement Test
Explore the potential of rapid cognition, which is often referred to as thin-slicing. This facilitates decision-making without succumbing to excessive analysis.
Start by formulating a question, such as ‘Will taking the promotion make me happy?’ Record the question on paper. Write a direct response beneath the question, indicating ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
Allow some time to pass before revisiting your response. Create a temporal gap to distance yourself from immediate emotional influences.
Upon returning to the question after a few hours, refrain from overanalyzing. Immediately circle your initial response without prolonged contemplation.
6. Let Go Of Negative Feelings
Be mindful of your emotional state. Negative emotions, such as anger or depression, can act as a veil and obstruct your intuitive abilities.
People tend to make better intuitive choices when in a positive mood compared to when engulfed in negativity.
To harness your intuition effectively, it’s essential to acknowledge and release these detrimental emotions.
7. Choose Your Company Wisely
The people you surround yourself with play a significant role in shaping your intuitive environment.
Identify individuals who uplift and empower you as they contribute positively to your intuitive thought process.
Conversely, those who drain your energy create noise that hampers your ability to hear your intuition.
If distancing yourself isn’t always an option, reframe it as your choice to stay. Maintain control over your decisions rather than relinquishing them to external influences.
8. Observe Your Surroundings
Gather more information from your environment. This will make your subconscious mind better equipped to inform your decisions accurately. Thus, it sharpens your intuition.
Be attuned to the details and nuances of your surroundings for valuable input for your intuition to work with.
9. Connect Beyond Words
Communication extends beyond verbal expression. Tone, volume, body language, and gestures all contribute to the meaning you attribute to interactions.
Tune into others’ thoughts, feelings, and intentions. Spend time with people and be attentive to non-verbal cues.
The more attuned you become to these subtle signals, the more your intuition benefits from a broader spectrum of information.
10. Embrace Silence
Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, find moments of silence and stillness. Solitude lets you tune in to the messages your intuition constantly sends, like warnings and encouragement.
Let your mind wander, and be open to your thoughts, feelings, and words that arise.
11. Use Your Dreams Well
While you sleep, your brain processes leftover information from the day. It makes dreams a valuable source of insights, experiences, memories, and lessons.
Pay attention to your dreams, you may gain access to information not readily available while awake.
Before bedtime, focus on any unresolved issues or problems, contemplating potential solutions. As you drift into sleep, entrust your brain to work on these thoughts, allowing it to delve into the realm of dreams.
12. Practice Meditation
Meditation involves allowing thoughts to flow naturally without attempting to suppress them. The essence lies in observation without judgment, fostering an understanding of thoughts, nudges, and intuition.
Through meditation, train your awareness to build a healthy perspective.
13. Embrace The Power Of Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the art of being fully present and consciously aware of your surroundings and actions without judgment or overwhelming reactions.
Strengthen this innate ability through daily practice to enhance your capacity and navigate uncertainty or emotional challenges.
For this, focus on the present moment using the five senses. Observe the external environment or tune into your inner thoughts and feelings.
14. Listen To Your Body’s Signals
Regularly check in with different parts of the body to unveil these signals. It provides a valuable pathway to recognize intuition trying to capture attention.
Tension in the head, neck, shoulders, or lower back and anxiety in the chest or stomach may precede emotional responses.
This way, you can identify stress and anxiety at an early stage. This allows them to discern intuitive nudges or feelings before their full significance becomes clear.
15. Experiment With Options
Similar to trying on a new outfit to gauge comfort and style, experiment with different tasks, activities, hobbies, or potential futures.
This lets you feel how each of them fits in your life. You gain a deeper understanding of their comfort, alignment with your path, enjoyment factor, and whether it puts you in a state of flow.
Experimenting provides clarity and lets you decide if a specific action aligns with your journey or not.
16. Embrace Serendipity
Serendipity is the occurrence of unexpected events by chance. It frequently brings unforeseen benefits.
This phenomenon may manifest when reconnecting with a long-lost friend just as you think of them or when an unexpected opportunity surpasses your goals.
To harness the power of serendipity, pay attention to patterns in your daily life, such as repeated number sequences.
These serve as prompts to pause, listen inward, and heed your intuition.
17. Tune Into Others’ Energy
Your intuition provides valuable insights during initial interactions. Next time you meet someone new, trust your first impressions, formed within the initial 27 seconds.
Over time, as you interact with them, revisit your initial intuitive feelings to validate your perceptions.
18. Seek Guidance Through Cards
Deepen your trust in intuition with Tarot, Oracle, or Affirmation cards. Choose a deck that resonates with your values and personality. During uncertainty or indecision, pull a card and reflect on its symbolism, words, or phrases about your situation.
But remember, cards are not fortune-telling tools. They serve as invitations to tap into your inner wisdom.
A word from TheMindFool
Since there are plenty of ways, you might be a bit overwhelmed. So, select only one method and practice it for a week. Record any instincts, subtle pushes, or emotions in your journal throughout the week.
At the week’s end, review your entries and reflect on the outcomes. Did your intuitions prove accurate? What occurred when you followed a subtle urging? Conversely, what transpired when you disregarded a sense of knowing?
Document these experiences to cultivate self-awareness and strengthen your trust in your intuition!
Surabhi has a deep passion for words. She puts her heart and mind into whatever she pursues and craves for creative ventures. She has always been keen on creating original content that can make a difference. In her experience as a content writer, she has had the opportunity to work on several fields with Psychology being her favorite. Surabhi says, words have the power to transform the world, better than a sword. So she hopes to contribute her bit to this revolution. At TheMindFool, she feels lucky to have the opportunity to share content capable of bringing about a change in the lives of the readers.