Intuition, Learning to Trust your Gut
Intuition, Learning to Trust Your Gut
6/18/17
Powerful Mind LCSW Psychotherapy, P.C.
Have you ever met a person and in an instant known there is something about them you don’t trust? Have you ever made a sharp turn solely based on a sense that you’re heading the right direction? Have you ever bet on the underdog against all odds because you just knew he would come out the winner? These experiences all fall under the umbrella term “intuition.”
In her book Awakening Intuition: Using Your Mind-Body Network for Insight and Healing neuropsychiatrist Dr. Schulz explains “Whether we call them hunches, gut feelings, senses, or dreams, they’re all the same thing - intuition, speaking to us, giving us insight and knowledge to help us make sound decisions about any number of actions we take” (Schulz, 1998, p. 19). But how do we learn to listen to these hunches, and how do we learn to trust our gut?
Every day we as human beings develop and add to our own library of life experiences. We catalog these memories both in our mind and in our bodies. Unconsciously these memories later inform our choices and influence our decision-making. Although we may be in a completely foreign environment surrounded by strange sounds and people our own personal history instinctively serves as the roadmap to help us navigate the unknown. Dr. Schulz argues that as we live life and age this roadmap becomes increasingly accurate and detailed as our library grows bigger and bigger. She writes that tapping into one’s intuition “means learning the language of your body and what it seeks to tell you through the memories and emotions collected and stored in all your organs over the course of a lifetime” (p. 113).
I am a planner. I write to-do lists, I assess and re-assess, I scrutinize hypothetical outcomes, and I strategize. In other words I’m neurotic. I want to know in detail what will happen if I do X,Y, and Z. Often this level of control and neuroticism interferes with my own happiness and enjoyment of life. It leaves me paralyzed in my own fear of “What if…” To overcome this I have worked and continue working on following my intuition. I’ve gotten really good at knowing myself on a deep, internal level. I know when the noises in my stomach are hunger, fear, or the stomach flu. I know when the goosebumps down my spine are reflective of an irrational fear or a real one. Although I practice this skill on a daily basis I have to constantly remind myself to choose to utilize it. For example, for years I have ignored a deep intuitive sense that one of my primary relationships is just not a good one. I have wasted a decade in this relationship feeling unhappy and trapped. Although it is scary, the more I have faith in my own gut feeling and take an active role in following my hunches the happier I feel. Schulz writes “Intuition is simply another form of perception. If we can learn to tap into it, take it in, and understand it, we can use it to make positive changes in our lives that will affect our health of…our entire bodies. (p. 289)
To summarize, life is too short to waste decades unhappy. So the next time you sense your gut feeling don’t ignore it. Listen to it. Trust it. Link it to your formula. And take action.
REFERENCE:
Schulz, M. L. (1998). Awakening intuition: Using your mind-body network for insight and healing. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press