Over the last three weeks, you have learned what your intuition is and some tips on how to strengthen it. Today it is important to learn ways in which we work against listening to that inner voice. This will give you ideas on the things we do, daily, that have a negative impact on that inner voice so that you can work to create  a better relationship.

Maybe you just want to trust yourself more or perhaps you want to gain a better insight on how you interact with people and situations. Developing your intuition is key in those matters and it is equally important to understand the hows and whys we work against it.

More than a feeling

“The primary wisdom is intuition. In that deep force, the last fact behind which analysis cannot go, all things find their origin,” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What did Emerson mean in this line? Emerson felt that intuition represented a more direct and immediate way of knowing things. To know something so deeply without having any prior knowledge of it before. It is not the same as learned thought. Most of us can happen upon our intuition without any real training. It pops up when we need it to save us from a bad choice or perhaps to give us a moment of beauty we might have otherwise missed.

What would happen if we learned to tap into that innate knowledge on a daily basis? Think of all we could accomplish and how much quicker many of our decisions would be. We dont we tap into it more often, you ask? Perhaps it is because we don’t know how to consciously call upon it when we “need” it. 

Carl Jung once said that “intuition does not denote something contrary to reason, but something outside the province of reason.” Meaning that intuition is real and not just some voice in our heads. In the same vein, it is something that our conscious mind cannot control.

You’ve lost that loving feeling

As we age, we start to conform to social norms. This means we often let that innervoice fall to the recesses of our minds. We are taught that the “voices in our heads” aren’t to be trusted but to rely on what can be seen and quantified. What should be taught is how to learn to temper the voices we hear and learn to give them better information to work with. 

Teachers, doctors, and bosses equate listening to that inner voice to daydreaming and a waste of time. So, we encourage children to put them aside for reason and conformity. From there we find other ways of ignoring our inner voice.

Here are 9 Ways We Sabotage our Intuition on a daily basis and ways to fix them. 

1. In our modern world, it’s a rush, rush, rush situation all the time. We hurry around so much that we don’t take time to stop and smell the flowers. Instead, slow down and just be still for a moment. Let your inner voice speak to you.
2. We are taught that there isn’t anything like symbolism. That a cigar is just a cigar. We don’t see an event as important and instead call it coincidence. We should encourage ourselves to pay attention to events around us and look for a deeper meaning. Be open to possibilities. 
3. We feel we need to be in control of everything, our emotions and events around us. If we are in control then we decide the outcome. The truth is that the ego is threatened by our intuition. The ego doesn’t like to be challenged. Break the norm and question if your ego is serving you or you are serving it.
4. We contort what our intuition tells us into fear or wishful thinking. We think it is just flights of fancy instead of reality. When we stay in our heads, we let fear and doubt control us. Emotion is based on fear more than it is knowledge and that is the opposite of intuition. Stop being hindered by what may be and let it happen
5. We associate or continue to associate with people who do not foster our spiritual growth and wellness. Then instead opt to tell us that it is some nu-age weirdness that isnt worth the time to think on. Intuition can be contagious but so is the lack of it. Surround yourself with a nurturing environment. One that wants us to grow and evolve to be better versions of ourselves.
6. We think we are in control of our intuition and try to force it like we would lifting weights or performing some task. Intuition isnt controlled by the conscious mind. It reacts to a situation when it is needed. It can be fostered and encouraged but not demanded
7. We start to believe that our logical, rational, and analytical mind is the only way to find answers to our situations or decision making. Learning to center ourselves and use all of our emotional intelligence and habits will foster a place where intuition can flood us with creative alternative that our intelligent mind may not see.
8. We listen to our ego when it says it can handle the situation all on its own. After all, it seems rational, it must know what it means. What we fail to realize is that ego is fed by emotion and a sense of self importance. We need to learn that our ego rejects insight that intuition offers us. Learn to turn down the emotion driven ego and listen to reason and intellect.
9. We recede into our heads. We believe that we don’t need tools, skills, and habits to master our intuition.That is isnt worth it. By being stuck in our heads, we don’t grow or evolve. We get stuck in an endless loop. Create an environment that fosters change and growth and that will allow your intuition to grow as well.

I can’t fight the feeling anymore

One of the most brilliant and analytical minds of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein said, “The real valuable thing is intuition.” If this famous and rational mind can credit intuition so highly, maybe we should give it a try too. Who knows, with a little practice, a little coaching and a few successes, perhaps we too will start to see the wisdom of using this ‘thing’ called intuition.

What are some negative ways you push down your intuition? Where did you learn them from and how do you work to overcome them? Let me know in the comments below. Remember that the lessons you have learned could be the key to breaking those hurdles for others.