Cause We Be Knowin’: Trusting Your Intuition

You’ve heard it all before, Sunshine Anderson: “trust your intuition,” “a woman’s intuition,” hell, “Black Girl Intuition.” But have you ever stopped to think about what intuition actually means?

Like love, intuition is one of those hard to define things, but you’ll know it if you feel it. When they’re not coming for the orange president’s neck on Twitter, the folks at Dictionary.com define intuition as “direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process,” or “ a keen and quick insight.” In other words, intuition is the feeling you get when you know something, despite reasoning or earthy logic. That inner-knowing. 

You ever left the house and something tells you to go back and lock the door? That’s intuition. You ever reject an offer that looks great on paper, but something tells you to hold off? That’s intuition. You ever quit your job with no back-up plan because something in you says, “if you take the leap, you won’t fall”? (I can’t be the only one.) That, my good sis, is intuition. 

Not to be confused with fear, intuition isn’t scary. Yes, your intuition can warn you about potential harm, but intuition is unemotional and can be trusted. Fear is highly emotional and can lie to you. A thought like, “I hate my job, but I should stay because something bad might happen if I quit,” is fear-based. On the other hand, your intuition may manifest as, “I hate my job, but something is telling me to stay right now,” then next month you get an unexpected bill and you’re relieved to have a steady paycheck. These thoughts sound similar and both could result in you staying at your current gig, but do you get how they feel different?

Strengthen That Intuition

If you’re still like, “Girl, what?” it’s cool. Although we all have an intuition, it takes time and intention to develop, connect, and ultimately rely on it. Fortunately, like many skills, the more you use your intuition the stronger it gets. Here are some ways you can tap into your natural gifts: 

Crack Open A Book 

Books: one of the great things they haven’t taken away from us yet. There are so many worthy reads to help you understand and strengthen your intuition. Check out classics like Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and Practical Intuition: How to Harness the Power of Your Instinct and Make It Work for You, as well as some more recent primers like Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear and Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe. 

Write It Down

Does journaling improve everything? Pretty much—especially your intuition. Write about your experience the next time you get what you think is an intuitive hit, including how your mind and body react. Keep doing this and take note of patterns. When I started paying attention to my intuition, I realized that I always got a slight buzzing in my ear when my inner voice spoke to me. Now, I can easily distinguish my intuition from fear, which feels more like nausea and anxiety for me. 

Chill Out

Honestly girl, chill. It’s hard to hear your intuition or have discernment when there’s so much going on in and outside of your body. Take time to quiet noise through acts like meditation (major key in developing your intuition), nature walks, and deep breathing. You can also practice mindfulness as you do everyday activities like cooking or eating by being silent, present, and taking your time as you intentionally perform each step. The more opportunities you give your mind, body, and spirit to chill, the easier it’ll be to tap into your intuition even when the world is doing the most. 

You Got It

Anything worth having demands work, so take time to strengthen your inner-knowing and it will lead you to some beautiful experiences—and possibly keep you from some ugly ones. And don’t forget to have fun! While trusting my intuition has saved my life, it’s also helped me win a contest and shock folks at gender reveal parties (y’all shouldn’t have invited me anyway). Most importantly, remember that you already got the juice. Your intuition has been with you since you’ve been you and, yes, life can drown that voice out, but it can’t kill it. You already be knowin’, now it’s time to trust yourself.