Intuition is on my mind a lot lately, especially as I was preparing to give a talk about using intuition for business decisions. I’m remembering how incredibly powerful and important intuition is, so I’m renewing my dedication to pay good attention to those wise inner signals.

Let’s talk about this resource that’s inside all of us.

I’m convinced by my experience, and the research, that our intuition is worth much more of our attention, and worth cultivating further…for happiness and success.

And yet, even people who trust their intuition in many areas seem to forget about it or lose trust in it when it comes to decisions related to their livelihood. Survival worries get in the way, gulp.

How do we find a balance between using this great inner resource and feeling safe as we move ahead?

I’ll explain a little about how it works for me and why I trust it for my business too, but not blindly. I found a safe way to do it. But first some definitions about intuition, so we’re on the same page.

What Is Intuition? It’s Worth a Fresh Look.

You know that feeling…when you just… Know. It comes over you in some inexplicable way. You don’t know how you know, but you just know. Or you have an inkling that keeps trying to get your attention.

That’s what I mean by intuition. It’s the sometimes quiet, and sometimes loud, signals inside us that say “Yes, do it,” or “No, don’t.”

Despite this inner compass built in to all of us, we all can get caught spinning, weighing our options, in the reasoning part of our mind. This spinning/overthinking can drive us nuts and keep us stuck for years, in the wrong careers, wrong relationships, or stuckness in anything.

Imagine if we could tap into something that makes our decisions easier, and helps us feel happier with our decisions. That’s what intuition can do for all of us.

It’s not just for “intuitive people.” It’s for everyone. We can all cultivate it and learn what to trust and how to make it safer to trust it.

Do You Trust Your Intuition? Even for Business Decisions?

I know you’re good at hearing and trusting your intuition in many situations, such as how you tune in to your clients’ needs.

But when it comes to business, or anything that effects our livelihood, oh, it can get scary or confusing to trust our instincts. When it comes to our livelihood, our inner skeptic is likely to be extra protective of us, and thus likely to squelch ideas that pop up in mysterious ways from our intuition.

Can you really trust those instincts for the big livelihood decisions, or do you have to go by “what the market requires”? I see most people struggle here.

I’ve done some experimenting to figure out what we can trust. I’ll share of my experience below.

The Risk of Trusting Your Intuition

When the heart speaks, as I believe it does with our intuitive “hits,” it’s telling us the path to happiness. Doing what the heart wants makes it happy. It’s a simple equation…kinda sorta…

I know, questions and/or skepticism are kicking in as you consider these bold statements I’m making:

• But I can’t just follow every whim…
• But what about reason?
• Which inner voice is reliable?
• Can I learn to hear it more easily?

I’d love to discuss all that but it would take a book. Actually an online course would do it. After I started writing this article, I heard the calling to create a tiny course and I hope to get to that.

For now I’ll say a few key things about it. Sometimes it’s about embracing mystery and trusting what you feel. It’s good to also look at the data.

Hard Data vs. Intuition?

You and I both know from experience that a pros-and-cons list or a long list of “data” is never enough. Certainly that’s true in matters of love, but the same is true in matters of business and money.

Your intuition is far wiser than you think it is. I believe it even has logic built in to it. It’s not a perfect path to truth, but it deserves our attention, with every decision. I believe it’s telling us something we need.

Intuition is not perfect. Reason and data alone is not perfect either. Combining the two is where the gold is.

Here’s My Experience with Intuition in Business and Life.

My intuition helps me with everyday decisions, including important personal decisions and running my business. I notice these benefits:

• When I listen to my intuition, my decisions and actions feel easier, and I’m happier with the outcome. There’s a sense of flow.
• When I don’t listen to it, there are consequences to pay whether exhaustion or larger consequences like years down the wrong path. Oh, I’ve had the large consequences for sure.
• The more I listen to my intuition, the more it speaks to me when I need it.
• I know it played a pivotal role in meeting my beloved soulmate. That is a daily “Yes” feeling. A deep Knowing. A reminder to hold out for the inner Yes. Yes to that!
• Trusting my intuition played a pivotal role in starting my business and choosing a niche. (People told me my niche was a bad idea but I went forward anyway from a place of Knowing. So glad I did.)

I also notice these challenges:

• Sometimes I forget to slow down and tune in, so I stay stuck wondering what to do.
• I get impatient waiting for clarity. It’s not always on my timeline. Darn it.
• Sometimes an easeful intuitive flash just happens, like grace, but my mind tries to dismiss it just as quickly, so I have to slow down and be with both the feelings and the reasoning, and cultivate the trust that clarity will come.
• It’s not a “quick fix” kind of thing. I have to devote time to being available to hear it, including cultivating a quieter mind with meditation.
• Sometimes I have ignored it because I was afraid to take a big leap that it seemed to point to. But I’ve learned that small steps are a great way to heed intuition’s guidance. No cliff jumping required.

I could tell some wild stories about where trusting my instincts has led me. Like when I just knew where to look for a new job for my spouse. (He applied, got the job, and is happy in it. Big relief for both of us.)

What’s Your Relationship to Your Intuition?

Here’s a quick self-assessment to see where you’re at. Consider an area like business where we are most prone to dismiss our intuition.

Which one of these needs more attention?

• Learning to hear my intuition and know how the trustworthy instincts feel.
• Learning to trust the intuition that I feel.
• Knowing when to use intuition versus analysis, and how to combine the two.
• Incorporate more of the activities where I’m likely to hear my intuition (such as meditation, journaling, drawing, walks in nature).

I’d love to hear about it if you want to share in the comments below.

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P.S., Here’s What Wise Intuition Feels Like

In one of my groups called SOULpreneurs we often refer to this idea of intuitive living and what it’s like and how to know what is true inner wisdom.

One of the members, J, wrote this poem. We loved it so much that we asked J to make it into a piece of art and greeting cards too, and it’s done! J gave me permission to share this story and this image: