Intuition is an important aspect of our lives, but when was the last time you listened to your instincts? Did you listen well, or did you dismiss your intuition as being unimportant?
Sometimes, you have to look deep within yourself when you feel something because even if you can’t support it with hard facts and data, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth considering.
Is This Why You Are Ignoring Your Intuition?
You might be ignoring your intuition consciously, but you may be ignoring it habitually too. Here are some reasons why and what you can do about it.
You Don’t Want To Be Wrong
One of the top reasons people ignore their intuition is because they’re afraid to make mistakes. That’s because intuition often doesn’t make sense, so they don’t want to take the risk and be wrong. Your worst critic is yourself, but you have to learn to listen to your inner voice too, and not be too harsh on yourself.
Give yourself permission to be wrong because only with practice can you make your intuition helpful and trustworthy. Making mistakes is part of the journey that allows you to gain more experience and learn.
You Doubt Yourself
Doubting yourself is similar to the fear of making mistakes. It’s another hindrance to listening to your instincts. Because you can’t be 100% sure, you downplay what the voice inside your head is telling you. One way to lessen your self-doubt is by listening and acting upon your instincts. You’ll get more in tune with yourself and learn to trust it better with practice.
You Are Afraid To Take Responsibility
Trusting your intuition sometimes means making decisions without data to back you up. These are the times you feel sure about your decisions even though you can’t explain them. However, if you are afraid of taking responsibility in case things go wrong, you could be ignoring your intuition when you shouldn’t be.
While you might feel safer ignoring it so that the blame won’t be put on you, ignoring your intuition can make you indecisive and unable to trust.
Don’t be afraid that the outcome might prove you wrong. Instead, feel empowered that you can live your life to its fullest by exploring all the possibilities.
You Get Distracted
Another hindrance to trusting your instinct is distractions. You might have a lot on your mind that makes it hard to focus and you can’t hear your inner voice. You might be multitasking or barely making time to be by yourself. You might be on your phone all the time, or browsing your social media feeds and procrastinating.
You have to have clarity in your thinking so you won’t ignore your intuition. Catch yourself when you feel like you’re always in a hurry, and do things one at a time.
Meditating can also help you clear your mind and learn how to pay attention to the present and recognize when your intuition is telling your something. Take a break, breathe, and focus.
You Believe There Is Only One Right Choice
If you are the type of person who believes that there is only a yes or a no answer, and definitely no maybes, this could be one reason why you may be ignoring your intuition.
Many aspects of your life don’t have only one correct choice. It’s not always black or white or good or bad. There are in-betweens, and that’s where intuition comes into play and can be very useful. Eliminate these rules because most things in life aren’t absolute. It’s full of long and winding roads, so trusting your instincts allows you to move freely and trust.
You Are Surrounded By Toxic People
Your environment plays a crucial role in how you can develop your intuition. If you are in toxic relationships of any kind and dwell in an unsupportive environment, you probably have a hard time trusting your intuition.
The people around you might deliberately tell you to ignore your silly feelings and worse, put you down or say you are crazy. This can reduce your self-confidence, so you become more afraid of making mistakes.
Toxic relationships may also make you feel like you have to please people and put yourself at the bottom of your priority list, which might shut down any intuition you have. While being selfless is commendable, it’s also important to prioritize yourself ahead of others and not ignore your personal needs.
You shouldn’t ignore your intuition as it’s a good thing! Instead, you can develop your intuition by being conscious and deliberate in listening to it and taking action immediately. Don’t be afraid of taking chances and listening to your gut feelings from time to time. It will give you more experience and strengthen your intuition so that it can be easier to trust.
