Intuition: Misguided and Under the Influence

Intuition. The majority of us know what it is and have an understanding of how it works. When you have a “gut feeling” about something it is often said to be intuition and we have all heard the famous line, “trust your instincts.” But is it really that simple?

I am no expert on the subject. I only have a mere 34 years of life experience, but I will venture to say that there is a lot of shit we all have to muddle through to find our true instincts.

Personally, my intuition has been tampered with by the wrong doing of others and diluted by the vast majority of readily available information provided by our good friend, technology.

There is also the frequent confusion between intuition and fear.

Here we are trying to navigate the choppy waters of life with an internal compass that is broken and under the influence.

So where can we go from here?

The wrong doing of others.

I will spare you my life story, but I have been stolen from, cheated on, humiliated and flat out screwed over by people I have trusted.

It sucks and leaves you feeling vulnerable and hurt. Instantly, you begin to question why your intuition lead you astray.

Here’s the deal, everyone else is just as misguided and sometimes without good intentions. There is nothing you can do about it.

Inevitably, you will be burned at some point in your life and it’s not your fault.

Forgive those who do you wrong, but most importantly forgive yourself for trusting in them in the first place.

Do your best to judge character and intent before you update your Facebook status or proclaim your new BFF to the world.

And if things go down in flames, don’t be so hard on yourself.

After all, you’re not a magic 8 ball.

Our buddy, technology.

It’s an amazing thing. I “Google that shit” all day long.

There are lists and articles, images, videos and GIFs, blogs and social media, you can find anything you want at anytime.

It’s like carrying the “knower of all things” in your pocket.

What we read influences our understanding of a person, place, thing or idea and for the most part, this primary source of education is positive, but it can take a turn for the worst.

If you find yourself lying on the couch with Mr. Google as the therapist, may I suggest logging out. You are not going to find the answers you are looking for and you will usually end up feeling more shitty than when you started.

Try having an internal dialogue about your situation rather than Googling ways to justify your or someone else’s actions, feelings, negative thoughts, etc.

Try writing in a journal, meditate, have coffee with a sane, down to earth friend, do yoga or a brutal CrossFit workout, go for a run, work on aligning your chakras, looking through your third eye, whatever you need to do to begin relying on yourself again.

Intuition vs Fear.

It is so easy to mistake fear for intuition and it is even easier to use intuition as a scape goat for your fear.

When you are fearful of something you tend to get crazy feelings of nervousness, stress, anxiousness, all because you are about to be out of your comfort zone. In those moments you will want to rationalize that it is your intuition. And it’s not.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are legitimate times when you should run like hell from something you fear, like bears and a man holding a knife (unless he is about to cut you a huge piece of cake… err… never mind run like hell from that too), but you need to check your feelings on this one.

If you’re feeling crazy emotional about something, let it simmer. Feel it out.

If it’s your gut telling you to act or react, you will feel neutral, have a sense of calmness, open to the possibilities of the future, pulled to do something, an overwhelming sense of joy or relief.

Intuition will make you feel at ease.

If it’s fear, you will feel small, powerless, trapped, frustrated. You will over analyze every detail and feel pushed.

Fear will make you feel super shitty.

Ultimately, we all need to spend a little more time getting to know our true BFF.

Ourselves.

Learn to trust yourself first.

Once you have a solid understanding of what fear feels like for you or when it is your intuition throwing a fit, you will feel more confident in the choices you make.

Take time to feel things out, unless you are being chased by a bear or a man holding a slice of cake. For the big, most important decisions you have a bit more time than you think.

Do you, mistakes and all, and walk with confidence.

This was written for one of my most favorite people in the whole world, you know who you are. I hope it helps. xoxo