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What if I told you that most “follow your intuition” advice is actually keeping you stuck?
Yeah, I said it. And before you click away thinking I’m about to trash the whole concept of trusting your intuition, hear me out. I’m not anti-intuition – I’m anti-bullshit advice that sounds spiritual but leaves you more confused than when you started.
After years of ignoring my inner voice and then swinging too far in the opposite direction, I’ve learned that the popular wisdom around intuition is mostly garbage. Here’s what nobody talks about when they’re selling you another “trust your gut” course.
Myth #1: “Your Intuition Always Knows Best”
The Real Deal: Your intuition is like a muscle that’s been sitting on the couch eating chips for years. It’s not magically wise just because it’s “inner guidance.”
I used to think my gut feelings were sacred messages from the universe. Turns out, half the time my “intuition” was just anxiety dressed up in spiritual clothes, or my brain trying to avoid doing hard shit.
What Actually Works: Start treating your intuition like a skill you need to develop, not a mystical force. Practice with small decisions first. Notice when your gut feeling is fear-based versus expansion-based. The real magic happens when you learn to tell the difference.
Myth #2: “Meditation and Journaling Will Make Your Inner Voice Crystal Clear”
Here’s what nobody talks about: You can meditate for hours and journal until your hand cramps, but if you don’t actually act on what comes up, you’re just spiritual masturbating.
I spent months writing in journals, asking my inner voice for guidance, then promptly ignoring everything that felt uncomfortable. My intuition got tired of being ignored and basically went on strike.
The Alternative Approach: Instead of endless soul-searching, try this: Listen to your inner voice for 24 hours straight. Every small nudge, every “maybe I should…” thought – act on it immediately. You’ll learn more about trusting your intuition in one day than in six months of meditation.
Myth #3: “Following Your Gut Always Leads to Good Outcomes”
Plot twist: Sometimes following your intuition leads to what looks like failure, and that’s exactly where the growth happens.
My inner voice kept nudging me to learn Spanish for years. I ignored it because I was “too busy” with other priorities. When I finally went to Costa Rica and couldn’t communicate, I felt like an idiot. But that “failure” taught me more about listening to inner guidance than any success story ever could.
Studies show that people who act on their intuitive insights, even when they don’t understand them logically, tend to have better long-term decision-making outcomes – Psychology Today research on intuitive decision making
What Works Better: Stop measuring intuition by outcomes. Start measuring it by alignment. Did you honor that inner nudge? Did you choose expansion over contraction? The results will take care of themselves.
Myth #4: “You’ll Know When It’s Your ‘True’ Intuition”
The uncomfortable truth: Your intuition doesn’t always come with a golden glow and angel choirs. Sometimes it’s the annoying voice that keeps suggesting you do the thing you really don’t want to do.
For me, my inner voice kept saying “share your sobriety story” for over a year. I resisted because I didn’t want to be “that girl” who made her whole identity about recovery. But every missed opportunity – like not being able to cross into Canada for a business opportunity because of my DUI – was my intuition saying “Hey dummy, authenticity opens doors.”
The Real Approach: Your intuition often sounds like the voice of inconvenience. It’s the persistent thought that makes you slightly uncomfortable but won’t go away. Stop looking for the voice that tells you what you want to hear. Start listening to the one that tells you what you need to hear.
My Journey from Intuition Skeptic to Reluctant Believer
I used to think people who talked about “following their inner voice” were just privileged folks with too much time on their hands. Then I started trading in the financial markets and got thrown into a world of personal development whether I liked it or not.
One trainer said something that pissed me off: “We don’t want people who will ‘try’ – we want people who will figure out how.” That hit different because I realized I was using “trying” as a get-out-of-jail-free card for not actually doing the work.
According to research from Harvard Business School, our brains are wired to rationalize inaction more than action – instead of taking any action, people too often respond with procrastination, indecision, avoidance, and evasion – which explains why we ignore those inner nudges that require us to step outside our comfort zone.
That’s when I started paying attention to my inner voice differently. Not as some mystical guide, but as the part of me that knew what needed to happen next, even when I didn’t want to do it.
The Spanish thing? That was my intuition trying to prepare me for opportunities I couldn’t even see coming. The sobriety content? That was my inner voice knowing I had something valuable to share, even when I was too scared to own it.
The Bottom Line: Intuition is Action, Not Meditation
Here’s what I wish someone had told me years ago: trusting your intuition isn’t about getting clearer messages – it’s about getting braver about acting on the ones you already have.
Your inner voice isn’t broken. You’re just not listening to it consistently enough to build trust with it. And you’re definitely not acting on it enough to see what it’s actually trying to tell you.
Your Challenge: The 48-Hour Intuition Experiment
Ready to test this out? For the next 48 hours, I dare you to:
- Notice every small inner nudge (call that friend, take a different route, speak up in that meeting)
- Act on it immediately – no overthinking, no “let me think about it”
- Track what happens – not just outcomes, but how you feel about honoring vs. ignoring those nudges
Don’t worry about the big life decisions yet. Start with the small stuff. Your intuition will get stronger with practice, and you’ll start recognizing its voice in the bigger moments.
The real question isn’t whether you can trust your intuition – it’s whether your intuition can trust you to actually listen.
What nudge have you been ignoring? Drop it in the comments. Let’s stop pretending we don’t already know what we need to do next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I know if it’s my intuition or just anxiety? A: Anxiety tells you to avoid and contract. Intuition tells you to expand and move forward, even when it’s uncomfortable. Anxiety feels frantic; intuition feels calm but insistent. The key is learning to feel the difference in your body.
Q: What if my intuition tells me to do something that seems completely illogical? A: Start small. Don’t quit your job because your gut says so – but maybe take that side project seriously. Your intuition often sees connections your logical mind hasn’t caught up to yet. Build trust with small actions first.
Q: How long does it take to develop stronger intuition? A: It’s not about time – it’s about consistency. You can strengthen your intuitive muscle in weeks if you’re actually acting on the nudges you get. Most people spend years “working on” their intuition without ever testing it in real life.
Q: What if I act on my intuition and it leads to failure? A: Reframe what failure means. Sometimes your intuition is preparing you for something bigger by having you “fail” at something smaller. The Spanish example in my story? That “failure” taught me more about listening to inner guidance than any success could have.
Q: Is there a difference between intuition and gut instinct? A: Think of gut instinct as your body’s immediate reaction to keep you safe, while intuition is your deeper wisdom guiding you toward growth and alignment. Both are valuable – gut instinct for immediate situations, intuition for life direction.
Ready to Stop Ignoring Your Inner Voice?
Here’s your next step: Don’t just read this and move on. Your intuition is probably nudging you right now about something specific. Maybe it’s that conversation you’ve been avoiding, that creative project you keep putting off, or that boundary you need to set.
Take the 48-Hour Challenge I mentioned above – but go deeper:
- Join the experiment – Comment below with ONE nudge you’ve been ignoring
- Get the support – I’ll be sharing daily check-ins and additional insights for anyone doing this challenge
- Track your results – Notice how different you feel when you honor your inner voice vs. when you ignore it
Want more like this? Hit that subscribe button and share this with someone who needs to hear it. The world needs more people actually listening to their inner wisdom instead of just talking about it.
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Remember: Your intuition isn’t broken. You just need to start treating it like the valuable guidance system it is. The question isn’t whether you can trust your gut – it’s whether you’re brave enough to act on what it’s telling you.
What’s your next move?
Reborn MeatSuit 
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