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The Great Intuition Hoax

7 Comments

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It’s a hoax.

It’s not really your intuition telling you not to proceed.

It’s your fear.

But sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference.

I recently found myself standing on the edge of a major decision – one that would potentially change my life forever.

I had to decide whether or not to enroll in a business course that cost a month’s salary.

The idea of spending that much money, of committing fully and completely to the training, to my business, and to my ability to succeed was terrifying.

Not to mention the impact it would have on my family.

I felt myself pushing up against a wall.

I was really demanding more of myself and considering taking the leap into something newer, bigger, more challenging.

It made my stomach do flips.

That feeling wasn’t good. I was a little sick.

But it wasn’t my intuition telling me that this was the wrong choice.

It wasn’t my wiser self telling me that this wasn’t the path for me.

It was my fear.

 

Fear

Fear would have you think it was your intuition talking.

He’s behind a conspiracy to keep you small, and he wants to blame it on  Intuition.

And Fear? Well, he’s sneaky. It can sometimes be awfully hard to tell the difference.

After all, the feelings can be quite the same.

The slight panic, the queasy stomach, the uncertainty . . .

But if you look closely enough, you can see who’s talking.

 

Intuition or Fear?

Despite the similarity of the feelings, there are certain fundamental differences.

The next time you find yourself facing a difficult choice, look at these differences to determine whose voice you’re listening to:

 

Difference 1

Your fear and intuition both kick in when you’re faced with something that demands more of you.

And while not every situation that challenges you to be bigger is the right choice, you will notice that when it’s only fear talking, there will be a tingle of excitement when you contemplate doing that next thing.

If doing that big thing is the right move, no matter how terrifying it is, you will also have a lot of enthusiasm about doing it.

You’ll really want it, even though you want the journey toward it to be less painful.  

If it’s your intuition, the feeling you’ll probably have is an overall uneasiness about that next thing.

Ask yourself, “Do I feel more uneasy or more excited, overall?”

 

Difference 2

Fear is trying to be your friend.

It believes that to keep you safe, you need to stay small.

But intuition wants to lead you to your biggest life.

Take an inventory of all your mental objections about doing it.

If they all seem to be leading you to things that point to a smaller existence, it’s probably just fear.

Examples of these kinds of objections include: It’s too expensive, it’s too much work, I won’t be able to handle it, etc.

Since intuition leads you to what is truly right for you, the objections you have about making that leap will look different.

They will be things like: This doesn’t feel quite right, I really want some other thing, and I don’t see how this move and that thing are compatible, or I have a feeling there’s something even bigger out there for me.

Notice the essence of your objections to know if it’s fear or intuition.

 

Difference 3

We’re all enrolled in the school of life.

And therefore we each have certain lessons we’re working on.

You’ve probably noticed that the same lesson pops up for you over and over again in different forms.

That’s just your life trying to teach you something.

When you’re faced with a decision and it looks very much like one of these life lessons, you’ll know that the right choice is to move through it in a way that will allow you to grow.

For example, if you’ve struggled your whole life with believing in yourself, you can be pretty sure that when you hear a voice telling you not to proceed with something that requires a lot of confidence, that it’s just the voice of fear bringing up all the issues around this life lesson.

Ask yourself: “Have I seen this situation before in my life? Is there a lesson here that I need to move through?” 

When you have the ability to read that queasy feeling and know if it’s your intuition or your fear, you give yourself a compass to navigating your path.

 

What I Did

In the end, I knew that enrolling in that training was the right thing to do.

Despite my terror about stepping up to the plate, despite my fear about how I would make it work financially, despite my concern about how I would possibly fit everything – my work, my training, my family – into my day.

I knew what I had to do, and yes, I did it.

I had to let go of the fears and trust that some of them would be false, some of them would work themselves out, and the rest I could handle on my own.

 

Your Work

If you’re struggling with a decision and you can’t tell if your queasy stomach means you should stop or go, ask yourself:

[color-box]Am I more uneasy or more excited, will it help me grow or keep me small, and have I seen this before? [/color-box]

Then go come on back and post a comment about what you figured out.

Do you know someone struggling to tell the difference between intuition and fear when it comes to a tough decision in their lives?

Go ahead and share this post with them. They’ll thank you for it. 

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Filed Under: Blog | Tagged With: Inspiration

Comments

  1. Sara says

    February 16, 2015 at 7:57 pm

    Although this is a great article, I still find myself struggling to understand if what I am feeling is fear or my intuition. I am stuck trying to make the decision of changing career industries going from healthcare to academia. I am very passionate about healthcare and want to grow and develop as a healthcare leader. Making a career change to a leadership position in academia may help me grow into the healthcare leader I ultimately want to be. On the other hand if I leaving healthcare I may miss out on many opportunities from with in the industry and all the relationships I have built will fade away. I have been very stressed out and can’t figure out what to do. To make things worse I really don’t know if what I’m feeling is fear or intuition. Should I leave or should I stay in health? What am I feeling.

    Reply
    • Jessica Sweet says

      February 19, 2015 at 6:45 pm

      Sara,

      How do you feel that moving to academia can really help? What are the concrete ways it can help you become a better leader in healthcare? Is there a path to being the healthcare leader you want to be within the healthcare field? How have others done it? Just from reading what you wrote, it seems there’s nothing drawing you to academia except for what it might offer you in terms of your healthcare career. There’s nothing inherent in academia that you want. Is that right? If so, see if you can do what you want without the divergence into another field, because you’re right about the disruption it can cause. I’m guessing your fear is really about not being able to achieve what you want while staying in your industry (having your cake and eating it too). If you could figure out this path, what would your intuition say then? I’d love to know more about your situation and to help, so feel free to reach out and connect with me personally. Just use the contact form on the website or email me at jessica at wishingwellcoach. com

      Reply
  2. Stacia says

    June 11, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    I came across Jessica’s post by chance — a friend posted it on Facebook, I clicked on the link and have had no regrets since! When I first read the post I had two thoughts: “yes!” and “this is it!” I have been searching high and low, and for years, for guidance on how to silence all the dissenting voices in my head so that I could zero in on my own internal guidance system; my intuition! I had found no guide quite as user-friendly, practical and as comprehensive as Jessica Sweet’s! In just one day she has helped me gain clarity on a complicated issue I have been struggling with for weeks! She also stands by her word when she promises to respond to your messages. She responded to mine and sent me just 4 illuminating questions and in answering them I made a more secure decision concerning my dream career! Her words work like the flip of coin: when the coin is in the air you suddenly know and understand what it is you’re hoping for. THANK YOU, Jessica! Keep up the great work! 🙂

    Reply
    • Jessica Sweet says

      June 11, 2013 at 12:58 pm

      Thanks so much, Stacia! I’m really glad I could help you gain clarity and make a decision so quickly. I hope that the 7 Day Live Off Your Passion Course is helpful too!

      Reply
      • Stacia says

        June 11, 2013 at 8:28 pm

        Thank you, Jessica! 🙂

        Reply
  3. Mike Monroe says

    June 10, 2013 at 12:46 pm

    Awesome post! All 100% accurate, in my experience. The thing that throws me off track is discouragement. My discouraged self doesn’t have the self-awareness (maturity?) to step back and say “what’s really going on here??” That negative emotion can be like a snowball.

    (Here’s a youtube video from an older movie that describes it really well… Hope you don’t mind me sharing this… but I LOVE this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJXYrx0kEow)

    (Warning – PG13 language. lol)

    Reply

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