Intuition vs Anxiety: Listening to your Intuition

What is intuition? It’s a feeling of inner knowing also known as a gut feeling. It’s a skill and an ability to immediately know what’s coming in the future or understand something in the present without any conscious rational thinking. It’s the art of listening to your gut (scientists do say your gut is your second brain). Listening to your Intuition helps you make life decisions and figure out what is good for you and what you should avoid. Have you ever randomly checked your phone because you had a feeling someone specific texted you and they did. In situations like that, where you make split second decisions based on “feelings” your body has and it tends to help you avoid something bad or attract something good, is based on your intuition. Combining both your conscious mind’s rational thoughts and your subconscious intuition is the key to making the right decisions for you.

How to listen to your intuition

Explaining intuition is tricky as it is an intangible feeling, like a vibe, and this vibe feels different for everyone. Remember that in order to listen to what your intuition is telling you, you need to listen to your body not your mind. Intuition is faster than the thoughts in your mind are created, so the answers to your questions come to your body before your mind can rationalize them. Listening to how your body reacts to situations and what feelings are produced is the key to deciphering whether you should go in a certain direction. But how exactly does one listen to their body and understand what it’s trying to tell you though?

1. Quiet your mind

In order to start listening to your intuition, we need to quiet the thoughts in our mind. They are not useful in this exercise and will distract you from what your body is trying to tell you. To do this, a number of techniques could be used, including meditation, yoga, or journaling. Even something personal to you could be used as well. For example, for me painting always quiets my mind and keeps me in the present. Take as much time as needed in order to quiet your mind and remove any overthinking or anxiety present.

2. Focus your thoughts

Focus your thoughts on a specific question, a looming decision, or a topic you need more clarity on. For beginners, try to focus your thoughts on a yes or no question.

• Should I move to California?
• Should I accept this new job offer?
• What do I need to do in order to attract the love of my life?

3. Notice your body’s reaction

Notice your body’s reaction when you ask yourself the question. Remember that your body’s reaction will be instant and your mind should not be trying to come with a solution using reasoning during this. Ask yourself these questions once you notice your body’s reaction and maybe even write it down

• Do you feel generally positive or negative?
• Where in your body do you feel something? is it in your gut? is it in your heart? 
• Do you feel light, powerful, open, energized? Do you feel tight, heavy? Are you physically hunched over? Is your jaw clenched?

4. Analyze what you feel

Analyze what your body told you. Again how your body react is unique to you but the general rule of thumb is if you feel sensations that are tight, heavy, or negative then its a no. However, if you feel light or energized then the answer is a yes. Practicing this exercise will help you hone this skill over time. You’ll start to notice that your body reacts the same way for any yes or any no. This observation will help you identify your intuition easily and efficiently in the future.

Intuition vs Anxiety

Out of the million feelings and thoughts that are going through your mind every minute, it’s hard to know which feeling is actually intuition. Sometimes the negative feelings in your body aren’t from your intuition and if you’re unaware of this you might make a decision based on the wrong reasoning. For example, you might feel tight and closed off in a situation, like when you receive a new job that is outside of your comfort zone and this might make you believe that this new job is not a good fit for you. However, this could be a fear or anxiety based response that could have been triggered by thoughts like “will I be good enough for this job”. You may even pass up on a good opportunity because of inner fear or anxiety masked as intuition. Knowing the difference between intuition and anxiety is critical to make the right decisions in the future. 

Intuition feels like a message got dropped into your body. It doesn’t harass you and it’s a calm feeling (even if it’s negative). It feels like a tap on the shoulder telling you to look but it doesn’t yell at you until you notice it. However, the presence of intuition is big and known. Anxiety on the other hand is chaotic energy, anything but calm. It’s a thought that runs around in circles in your head yelling at you to notice it. You can’t seem to get those thoughts or feelings out of your head even after you acknowledge them.  

In conclusion, next time you’re struggling with making decisions or deciphering your emotions, remember to calm your mind and see what your intuition has to say too. Using both your conscious mind and your subconscious intuition, you’ll be equipped to make the best decision for you.