In talking with my daughter recently about her career and desire to have her own business, one thing that I suggested was to listen to her intuition. As she kept ruminating over ideas and different options, it was clear that she was finding it hard to see "the forest for the trees" when facing a big life decision.
Steve Jobs, noted founder of Apple, said, "Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."*
The key is to step back to listen to your heart and intuition, yet hard when life is busy and crazy.
Try This: Pause and Tune In
To recognize and "trust your gut," it does take quieting the mind and ego to be able to recognize answers. The good news is that being able to listen to your intuition can improve creativity and problem-solving skills. Here are 3 exercises from Positive Psychology**:
- Prioritize your intuition - Make time each day, or even several times a day if you have an important decision to make, to tune into your intuition.
- Get to know how your intuition 'speaks' to you - Slow down and try to sense how, or where, you experience your intuitions.
- Keep a reflective journal - Writing down words and phrases as they come to you when considering a problem may also provide you with a different insight.
With most people, listening to intuition is not a regular activity and not taught in school. For me, telling Amanda to listen to hers was a great reminder for me to do the same!
* Steve Jobs quote, https://www.success.com/trust-your-gut-13-quotes-to-be-confident-in-your-decisions/
** How to Develop Intuition: 5 Training Exercises, https://positivepsychology.com/intuition-training/