You know what you know... you know? - Embracing your intuitive gifts
Updated: May 25, 2020
Hello Beautiful!
I’ve had several conversations with other women recently about what they would love to do, who they would love to be, and what they would love more of in their life. It always comes back to embracing their intuition to guide them, and these conversations usually begin with something along the lines of,
“I’m not exactly sure what I want, Angie! That’s the problem!”
What do I mean by intuition anyway? It literally means, the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. We all have the ability, but many hide it, ignore it, or simply don't recognize it. Sometimes though, when we can’t ignore it, and it seems so magical. Something happens that you had a sense was coming and you might find yourself saying “Oh my God, I KNEW that was going to happen!!” although you may not know exactly how you knew. There's no logical or rational explanation for it, you just knew.
Like many women I know, I started filtering my words and actions to fit societal norms at an early age. When we are children, we are taught to use reason and logic to explain what we know. Hell, we spent 19 years in school to reinforce this message over and over. “You must EXPLAIN your answer.” Can you remember a time (or many times) when you knew something deep down, but when you shared it with someone else, by the end of the conversation you would leave questioning yourself? “Maybe I am crazy?” you’d think. I bet if you sat with that question for a bit, you would find several examples.
After a while, we start ignoring our innately intuitive nature and we begin to believe we can’t trust ourselves. We begin to filter our truth to keep the peace.
Although I don’t remember it myself, my amazing mother shares a story from when I was 2 years old. She and my father had recently divorced, and she had just picked me up from a visit. Driving away from the house, I told her about his new girlfriend. I loved new people and I love talking (if you know me well you know this is true and stop giggling, I can hear you from here). So someone new hanging around was likely very exciting for me. My mother, being the amazing woman she is, didn’t react to the news other than to smile and acknowledge what I said, but I somehow KNEW that she was hurt, so I quickly changed the story. “ACTUALLYYYY…. I think she’s just a friend.” I told her. I now see clearly that I was already learning to use my intuition to filter my words. Never wanting to disappoint, never wanting to hurt, never wanting to be wrong, I filtered my truth. I suspect this is true for you too.
If you ever wondered if you are truly intuitive, I can assure you, you absolutely are… otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading these words. This post wouldn’t resonate with you in the least and you likely would have stopped reading 3 paragraphs in. But not to worry, if you question it, you’re not alone. I questioned it too and so does just about every woman I work with at first.
When I first reached out to my coach for support, I thought my heart was calling me toward becoming a better corporate coach. Hell, I even thought I might get her support to become an executive coach, because, at the time, I wanted nothing more than for “leaders” to be servant leaders; more human-centered in their style.
I would tell every manager who would listen (and even some who wouldn’t) “Ask what your people would love to pursue in life and help them get there even if that means they will eventually leave your company. Encourage them to feel safe to share their dreams with you. Do this and they will help you meet your goals and will leave you in a better position when they go!”
Come to find out, what I was really saying to these leaders was “Ask ME! Support ME! Let ME explore what I would love and allow me to feel safe to tell you about my dreams.”
Instead, I took the socially acceptable route of playing it safe, and, in the process, I shoved my intuition that was telling me what I would love, down… down… down until it was easier to ignore. Not that I could ignore it completely. After all, it did guide me to the right person who helped me dig deeper and explore what I truly wanted.
Before that, I spent years looking for validation in my jobs, relationships, and all things external. Online class, certifications, so many books I lost count... I was searching for 'my purpose.'
Really, I was looking for someone to tell me “Yes, you know what you know! Yes, it’s safe to trust yourself. And Yes, it’s okay to follow your heart.”
So, I am telling you, Yes, you are intuitive, there’s no question about that. The question is, are you allowing yourself to know what you know? Are you embracing it? Are you allowing that muscle to build and are you using it to move forward to fulfill your innermost dreams?
Even if you listen, but choose not to take action, that’s perfectly fine. Honoring your inner knowing and deciding not to act, is acting. Dismissing your inner knowing… dismissing yourself, will simply no longer do. The energy of our world has shifted to call you and your gifts forward, but I don’t have to tell you that, you already intuitively know.
Ask yourself, are you ready to follow this calling?
Are you ready to embrace and honor your intuition and allow it to guide you?
The woman deep within you is ready; she is giving you permission to say Yes and like my coach supported me, I am only a phone call away to support you.