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A lot of people move through their lives going on “hunches” or their “gut” reactions. While sometimes these work out, other times they get drowned out by human fear and anger.
Intuition is something that every human being has within themselves. It might seem like only certain people have intuition because you try and follow their successful templates and fall flat on your face. Trust me, it’s happened in my life so I’m going to guess that it has in yours too.
That is simply part of living and hard lesson to learn, too.
Is honoring your own intuition something that feels hard to do? Maybe you look upon intuition as some sort-of magic trick that only works once in a while (like when someone wins the Powerball or lottery when you “knew” you had the winning ticket).
Intuition is defined as “the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought or interference.” It is an “inner knowing” that is yours and yours alone. Someone else has their own “inner knowing” or intuition.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could take these intuitive abilities and use them in your daily life? I do believe it is possible, but it takes practice and understand that you will have to discern whether your intuition or ego is guiding your path. Let’s look at three ways you can develop your intuitive abilities right now.
Listen to your intuition
If you’re a bit like me, then listening to music is a beautiful way to chill out. Imagine you are out driving in your car or outside on your patio, have your radio on and – all of a sudden – your favorite song starts playing. Those goosebumps and good vibrations are real and, man, it’s incredible.
Now let’s take that example to another level. Let’s say you woke up and had a song running through your head.
For instance, I’m a fan of late singer-songwriter Bobby Darin and I might have “Mack The Knife” stuck in my head. I’ve heard the song hundreds of times but not that specific day. I get up and start going about my day. I turn on the radio to a station that plays standards along the lines of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Darin…but I don’t know if they are going to play “Mack The Knife” at all.
Then I start hearing the opening drumbeats of that familiar song and Darin’s voice starts singing “Oh the shark, babe, has such teeth dear…” and away it goes.
If I am listening to my intuition, then I am dialed into my own inner world. Listening to your intuition and truly trusting it may take you a long, long time. There are people who have powerful intuitions and trust them completely; others have been filled with people’s ideas and energies that even attempting to listen to their intuition is a lost cause.
Yet you can learn to do it. You have an intuition within yourself for a reason. It’s there as a guide, a gentle encourager that helps you navigate life’s choppy waters. When you start listening more to your intuition than the outer noise of humanity, then you will start moving forward in the path you want to take.
Listen to your intuition and trust it.
Learn from your intuition
Education is a good thing. Continuing to grow and learn beyond what you already know is important. In my own life, I’ve been deep-diving into the world of Stoicism over the past few months and the writings of author Ryan Holiday.
While there might not be a direct correlation between learning about a topic or subject and learning from your intuition, an education of the soul and spirit is part of your intuitive abilities. Taking care of your soul is important because it is a source of intuitive energy.
Those nudges you feel about taking a job or meeting some new people? That’s your intuition telling you to get going.
Obviously, learning from your intuition at first might feel like taking your first steps as a baby. You will wobble a little and probably fall down, yet you get up because you want to learn how this intuition thing works within yourself.
Learning from your intuition does take time. It isn’t a lightning bolt experience for most people. The benefits, though, of truly leaning into that intuitive education will reap quite a harvest for your life, family and friends.
Honor your intuition
Imagine standing on the floor right at the edge of a judo mat. In the world of martial arts, teachers instruct their students to bow before stepping on to the mat as a sign of respect. Both teacher and student express their honor toward this space.
In like manner, learn to honor your intuition. Realize that it is within you for a reason. It’s going to help you in life if you let it. When you choose to give your ego more attention than your intuition, then you are going to be in a lot of trouble.
As I mentioned earlier, author Ryan Holiday has been one of my favorites in recent time. His book “Ego Is The Enemy” shares story after story about how famous people both from the Stoics to celebrities and entrepreneurs either harnessed their egos or had them overwhelm them to the point of death.
The people who learned to honor their intuitions, if you will, proved to be more successful and navigated through some really horrible times. Those who chose to push forward with their agendas fell right on their faces or suffered much worse fates.
When you learn to honor that intuitive feeling within your own heart and soul, then you have made great strides in human development…your human development. Intuition is something like that judo mat, a wide-open space where practice and combat take place. You are the one in the driver’s seat when it comes to honoring your intuition.
Listening, learning, and honoring your intuition are core steps toward developing these wonderful abilities within yourself. Let your intuition help you in life and watch what I call miracles happen right before your very eyes.