in • tu • i • tion — 1. The direct knowing or learning of something without the conscious use of reasoning; immediate understanding. 2. The ability to perceive or know things without conscious reasoning. -Webster’s New World College Dictionary
When is the last time you listened to an intuitive hunch? When is the last time you didn’t listen to an intuitive hunch, and wished you had?
Intuition is a powerful tool, which the higher self uses, to guide you on your life path. Intuition leads you to connect with many practical and important parts of your life: Such as, meeting your soulmate, developing an enjoyable livelihood and expressing your creativity.
Learning to follow your intuition is a skill. It is a specific language, such as learning to play the guitar or the piano, that requires practice and training. Its vocabulary transcends logic and works non-linearly. Although intuition functions outside of logic, it is far from illogical.
In fact, intuition is a highty intelligent and well-organized form of communication. Albert Einstein once stated, “The only real valuable thing is intuition.”
Do you make these 5 common mistakes when following your intuition?
Mistake #1: Lack of knowledge. The first mistake most people make is to overlook the amount of training and practice it takes to develop the ability to follow their intuition for real life success. Random “intuitions” absolutely do happen; however, to effectively and practically rely on intuition, reliably and repeatedly, requires training.
Can you imagine picking up a guitar for the first time and strumming a song, in tune and with the correct beat, without first learning the individual chords and melody that compose the song? It is not likely to happen. A guitar player must first learn through practice how to move his/her fingers and construct chords before playing a song. Step one in learning to follow your intuition is training and practice. Begin by reading books and articles on intuitive development, attend classes to develop your skills, and/or choose a friend to be your intuitive buddy and practice development exercises together.
Mistake #2: Wishful thinking. The second common mistake people make is confusing personal desires with intuition. Your personal wishes are a driving force in each action or inaction you take. Fantasizing and wishful thinking cloud true intuition from being heard. Have you ever wished for a job, a lover, or an opportunity that you felt convinced would come your way only to later be disappointed by the reality of the situation? Learn to detach from personal outcomes. Once your personal desires relax into the background, the voice of intuition can more easily surface.
Mistake #3: People pleasing. Mistake number three is overriding personal feelings, inner guidance, and knowing in order to fit in, please another, or not rock the boat. Often times you may receive a signal or guidance of what to do or where to go and overlook the guidance because it would involve disappointing another person. Following your intuition requires you to develop a strong sense of self with the ability to go your own direction even if it upsets or inconveniences the people around you.
Following your intuition will often inspire and support others in surprising and wonderful ways; however, it also involves setting boundaries and going new directions, which may disappoint others.
Mistake #4: Over-analysis.Mistake number four is over-analyzing information. Intuitive hits will not stand up to analysis; therefore, they may be dismissed.
Consider this story. About five or six years ago a friend and business colleague, Mark, was publishing a raw food cookbook. He was trying to obtain a celebrity testimonial for his book from Woody Harrelson. Woody lives on Maui, as do I. Mark figured I might have a connection to Woody and asked if I could help him. While I wanted to help Mark, after I analyzed the request, I turned him down. I do not know Woody or anybody that does on a personal basis. I did not linearly see how I could achieve this. Mark continued to ask for help, and I continued to say no. After his third request, I stopped and tuned in. I greatly respect Mark’s intuition and ideas. I thought, “My analytical mind may not know how to obtain this testimonial; but, I trust that if Mark has asked me a few times, which was not really his nature, I would trust that something bigger was at hand.“ At this point, I figured I could simply follow my intuition and see what happened. The next day I meditated, calmed my mind, and asked my intuition what was the best step to take to obtain the testimonial. I was guided to what to say and where to send an email with the testimonial request. Within two weeks, I had a testimonial from Woody Harrelson in my inbox for Mark’s book. (See Woody’s testimonial: “Recipes so good you may want to eat this book.” on book cover photo above!)
Mistake #5: Control. The fifth common mistake people make is trying to control life. Intuition operates in a way that requires letting go of control.
I like to plan my schedule daily, weekly, and monthly. While I plan room for “flow” in my day, I typically like to know what I am doing next. One day while I was driving home after an appointment with my tax accountant, I felt inspired to go to the hospital to visit a doctor who was also a friend of mine, Dr. Manoukian. I hadn’t seen Dr. Manoukian for a few months and felt a “call” to connect and say hello to him. At first, I discounted the inspiration because it was not a “scheduled” stop; and, I assumed Dr. Manoukian would be busy and felt hesitant about interrupting his day. But, nonetheless, my intuition kept guiding me to go. I surrendered control, let go of my schedule, and went. As I arrived at Dr. Manoukian’s office, I could see he was there, finishing a report. When he saw me, he warmly smiled, welcomed me, explained he had just a few minutes before his next patient, and asked what brought me to the hospital. I explained the inspiration and after we chatted for a few minutes, it was clearly revealed to me why I had been inspired to drop by. Earlier that week, I had been working in my garden and had been advised by a permaculturist that I needed to get woodchips to use as mulch in the garden. I put the woodchips on my mental list of things to do and committed that before the week’s end I would have the woodchips. As we chatted and caught up with each other’s lives, Dr. Manoukian shared that he was building a new home and clearing the land to build. He had just purchased a mill and had piles of woodchips to share. He invited me to come by and pick up woodchips for my garden.
As you can see from the points and stories illustrated above intuition is an important skill to develop. Take time to practice and develop your sixth sense. It is well worth your while. What has your experience with intuition been? Do you have an intuitive success story to share? Intuition grows through storytelling. Share your stories in the comment section below.
