The Great Intuition Hoax

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.