Learning to Listen to Your Own Intuition: Signs to Know if You’re on the Right Path

By Priya Kaur Tahim, LPC

Kaur Counseling

. https://www.kaurcounseling.org/

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Learning to Listen to Your Own Intuition: Signs to Know if You’re on the Right Path

You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach that feels like butterflies mixed with nausea? It’s called anxiety. I’ve been living with anxiety for a long time now, and it’s been an uphill battle. I’ve tried deep breathing; meditation, yoga, relaxing, crying; nothing seemed to work at the time, at least not for me. That wasn’t until I realized that my anxiety wasn’t just plain anxiety, it was my intuition letting me know that something wasn’t right.

“At times you have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” 
― Alan Alda

            Learning to listen to your own intuition sounds really odd and out of the norm, but once you allow your self to listen, you’ll find yourself opening your mind to the possibilities of things that you normally wouldn’t have thought possible.

            When I first began to recognize the difference between anxiety and intuition, I realized my body alerting my mind of certain situations that either weren’t healthy for me, or decisions I was making that weren’t for the best. I caught myself becoming more cautious of my choices and becoming more aware of my surroundings. My chest would get tight, and I felt my lungs getting tighter and tighter. It felt like I was having an asthma attack, and at first, I’d reach for my inhaler, but then after my inhaler would fail, I realized it wasn’t my asthma, it was my body letting me know that something wasn’t right. So I would take a deep breath, take a step back, and ask myself, “what is it that I really want?” If the answer to the question, wasn’t the answer that I was giving myself, than I would re-evaluate the situation I was putting myself in. 

            Once I started to re-evaluate the situations I put myself in, or the choices I was making, I began to feel happier, and much more comfortable with where I was going in life. I began to feel like I was finally making strides to a brighter future, and on the path to where I wanted to be, or where I imagined myself to want to be. Although, I have an image in my head of the ideal future, I know that life throws curveballs, so I know that things won’t turn out exactly how I’ve imagined them to be, and I’m finally ok with that idea. Every curveball that life has thrown in my direction has made me into the person I am today. I have made some horrible decisions along the way, but now that I’ve been able to recognize and listen to my inner intuition, I know that even if I steer off path a little, I’ll always be able to find my way back to the yellow-brick road to the life I call my own.

            Here are 5 tips to learning to listen to your own intuition:

1. If you have a feeling that something is wrong, then 98% of the time there is something wrong. You can either do something about it, or not. The choice is yours.
2. When you’re in a negative situation, and you don’t know what to do, take a deep breath, close your eyes and count to 5. You know what’s best for you, just listen to gut; it won’t lead you down the wrong path.
3. Trust yourself. We often instill trust in those we love, but we fail to trust ourselves. Trust is one of the most valued things in life if you can learn to trust yourself to make a decision. Our loved ones want what’s best for us, but only you know what’s truly best for you.
4. Learning to let go of the things you can’t control. If you let go of what you can’t change, you’re allowing your body, mind and soul to move forward towards a healthier future.
5. Looking for signs is the universes way of letting your intuition speak to you. I truly believe that there are certain things that happen in life that are there to guide us in the right direction. It’s a way for our subconscious to communicate the wants and needs our heart; whether it’s a dream, a déjà vu moment, or a moment that you can’t explain. A sign is there for a reason, use you intuition to find that reason.

Once you begin to listen to your intuition, you’ll start to see doors opening that you never sought before. Out of my own personal experience, I can say I’m in a place I never thought I’d be. Every moment in my life has led me to the person I am today. 

Learning to listen to my intuition, has taught me that it’s okay to say no, and it’s okay to not be perfect in a society that is known to be perfect. I am perfectly happy with being flawed. I am happy with who I am, and with the mistakes I’ve made, because without them, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am.

“Intuition is seeing with the soul.” ~ Dean Koontz