The power of intuition

As I used to rush through my days, I rarely slowed down to pay attention to small intuitive messages I occasionally received as whispers of warning.

And when I did get a feeling that something was amiss — like that a new prospective client was going to be hard to work with, or something felt “off” about a situation, I often ignored or over-rode the message.

I would convince myself it would be ok, or that my team would be able to handle the matter, or that it was not really something to take so seriously. 

Invariably, my initial instinct was correct.

I would have been wise to trust and heed that small voice in my head.

Sadly, when I ignored those intuitive messages, the reality sometimes turned out to be worse than I had a hunch it might be.

I finally decided to pay attention and to trust my gut.

Do you hear what your gut is telling you?

When you are perpetually busy it’s hard to hear the messages your gut — your intuition, your second brain — is sending you.

Even still, getting a “feeling” that something is not a good idea has happened for nearly all of us.

If you recall something like that, you have evidence. 

The fact is, your intuition is powerful and has a lot to tell you. The key is to create the conditions to hear what it’s saying, and then to actually listen to what you hear.

How to clearly hear the small voice inside you

It’s hard to hear what intuition wants you to know when your attention is focused on doing, or you are constantly checking in on your phone or otherwise filling your brain with “input”.

Instead, create a little quiet. Sit. Breathe slowly. Walk outside. Meditate. Take any sort of break without doing anything productive. 

You may be surprised at what shows up when you consistently make space for some quiet in your life. (Even a few minutes a day works wonders.)

The more you practice this, the more it will feel like a normal part of your life. And more messages from that wise voice inside are likely to come up.

Why it can be hard to trust your gut — and how to build that trust

A big reason people ignore or over-ride intuitive messages is fear. 

When you are afraid to give up a new project, or leave a job that makes you miserable, or stay away from someone who may be a risk to your wellbeing — even when red lights of warning start flashing inside — you are likely to convince yourself it will all be fine. 

When uncertainty about what might come next feels too risky, or you habitually try to please someone, or not disappoint them, fear convinces you to mistrust the voice inside that’s telling you “Pay attention!”

Being able to recognize when fear is at play, and see how it is aiming to influence you, you can look at a situation with fresh eyes.

You can remind yourself that your inner voice knows a lot and is trust-worthy.  Look again at what it is urging you to consider. Proceed with eyes open and make choices that will ultimately serve you best.

Over time, you will have evidence that your “second brain” is filled with great wisdom and is a trustworthy guide.

It’s time to listen and trust

Take a moment to slow things down and get quiet today. Listen — to the subtle sounds around you and to messages that may show up.

Be patient. It may take a while for you to hear intuitive messages. 

They will come.

And they may come at unexpected times, like in the midst of a conversation, or while doing something routine, like washing dishes or driving a route you know so well it does not take a lot of concentration.

As you spot them, listen, trust, and choose your best way forward. You are sure to see how powerful your second brain is — and how powerful you are as you move ahead to create your best life.

What are you waiting for?

Each day we awake with a fundamental choice.

We can choose to go through the day much like all other days. Entrenched habits and patterns can rule us.
This leads to reacting to everything that comes along. And tolerating frustrations or relationships or jobs that drain us. And to struggling to make time for self-care, not to mention things that bring joy.

Or, you can choose a different option.

You can start each day with the energy of a creator — deliberating considering what you want to create in your life, and actively creating when you move through your days.

What does it look like to embrace the energy of a creator?

When you embrace yourself as a creator, you look at the way you have been living and decide what is working well and where you are frustrated — or are tolerating things that don't work well.

This is what can happen.

You can choose to make positive changes, like showing up as your authentic self, both at work and with people in your personal sphere.

You can learn to listen to your intuition — and trust it.

You can begin to live boldly, and play more, and not let fear or doubt stop you.

Learning to live this way means stepping up in new ways. It means being willing to make commitments to yourself to take action, to shift from living on auto-pilot.

And while it means being willing to step into some discomfort, it means trusting that you are capable of doing this work, and willing to ask for support. And it means you want to be accountable to staying on the path of positive change.

Or, you can wait.

You can wait for certainly.
You can wait for permission.
You can wait for confidence.
You can wait for magic (sometimes in the form of someone who will come to the rescue or someone to do the work for you).
You can wait for complete clarity about what you want, or what to do next, or the exact destination.

Are you content to wait, or are you ready to take action to live a life that makes you excited to wake up to each new day?

This is your decision point. You get to choose.

This can be the day you say “Yes!” to yourself and a bigger future.

If you are ready to know more about what it can look like to become a true creator in your life, drop me a note.

We’ll schedule a time to talk — no obligation, no sales pitch. Just an opportunity for me to hear about your challenges and the dreams you have for a more fulfilled life, and for you to hear about what it takes to become the creator of that future.

I can promise that this conversation will provide you with big insights and a lot of inspiration.

Scheduling this call will be a meaningful action step.

Do you want to take it?

How to access all of your own wisdom

So many of us live primarily in our heads. We think — hard and long. We look for and depend on data, validation, or confirmation from outside sources before we take action.

We are afraid to take risks, and are often desperately afraid of failing. We believe that all that thinking, analysis, and searching for confirmation will protect us from the possibility of failure. And certainly, if we remain in our heads and search for more and more assurance, we never make many attempts that could fail — but could also succeed.

This is a classic way we stay stuck — all the while telling ourselves the comforting story that we are simply being thorough, or doing our due-diligence, or getting fully prepared before taking action. 

All of this thinking is leaning hard into the left hemisphere of our brains. That’s the side that is logical. The side that seeks data and facts. Some of us even think of ourselves as “left-brained” types. But, the fact is that while the left hemisphere is super important, it is only half of our brain. And, we all have access to all of our brain-power — right and left.

Why do so many of us settle for using only half of such a critical resource? 

The right hemisphere of our brain is marvelous and is often under-tapped as a resource. People in fields like science, law, math, medicine, and engineering often feel wary of right-brain attributes, as they rely so much on facts, logic, and evidence. They think that right-brained people are artists, and they are uncomfortable about having anything to do with art.

This is a huge misconception. The riches of the right hemisphere are remarkable and valuable for all of us — and they are accessible to everyone. 

Here is how you can begin to tap into ALL of your wisdom:

Connect to and trust your intuition

The right brain is the place that our intuition lives, and our intuition is a huge source of our intelligence. When you have a “gut feeling” that’s your intuition talking to you. Pay attention to the messages from your body, too! In fact, your gut is considered a second brain. I urge you to actively check in and listen for what it is saying — because there is enormous wisdom in your gut feelings. When you override intuitive messages with logic, you will invariably find that your intuition was right. Trust it!

Embrace emotion

Emotions are connected to the right hemisphere of the brain, and connecting to your emotions is amazingly valuable. Emotional intelligence — being able to read people’s feelings, and your own feelings — is one of our greatest resources, and is crucial for effective leaders. 

Some people are scared of their emotions, and that is not so surprising when you consider the impact of strong emotions like anger or grief or fear. But when you cut emotion out, you are disconnected from important messages that help you make sense of things, experience things, and assess things. You are unable to communicate and respond effectively, and you are less able to feel empathy for others. All of this missing knowledge hinders you in big ways. (And strong emotions tend to come to the surface in spite of your efforts to suppress them, leaving you feeling overwhelmed, confused, and even out of control. Ouch!)

Create!

The right hemisphere of the brain is the place of idea generation, imagination, and creativity. And, our gut (our second brain) is the other seat of tremendous creative energy. It goes without saying that creativity is vastly important — in every aspect of your life.

The thing I have found, over and over, is that huge numbers of people have an absurdly limited idea of what it is to create. They are sure they are not creative, because they associate creativity with being Michelangelo or Mozart or Baryshnikov.

The truth is that there are infinite ways to create, and all of them are remarkable. And, all of them are available to you. 

First and foremost, start to think of yourself as a creative being, and consider what you can and want to create in every moment. 

• You can create with food — in the preparation of food, the presentation, the combinations of flavors, and more.

• You can create with color — using pencils or crayons for fun, or using color to make your ideas clearer for other people to understand, or choosing colors for an environment that will inspire or soothe or stimulate you, to name just a few examples.

• You can create with words — in poems, in conversation, when journaling or writing articles or proposals. Or knock yourself out and start writing a book if you’re so inspired.

• You can create with music — by playing an instrument, or singing to process emotions, or by choosing the music to play during a gathering with friends, to set the mood you want.

• You can — and do — create when you bring any new concepts and ideas together, and when you set a vision. Consider these creative opportunities, expand your thinking.

• And here's what you may never have considered. You can create when you deliberately choose a creative mindset. Every time you create a response and choose your course of action, rather than reacting, you are creating in your life. You can create what is right for you, what will align with your values and lead to what you want, in every moment.

Can you think of yourself as a creator now? 

Test it — and start today

There’s no time like the present to start thinking about how you can embrace all of your intelligence and bring more of it to everything you do, both at work and in your personal life. Pay attention to what changes, or shifts, or expands as you exploit the benefits of leaning more into the gifts of your right brain!

I welcome you to share your experiences and ideas and results, or questions. Comment below, or email me, so we can compare notes, learn from one another, dig deeper into this topic.