Developing Intuition
Effortless, calm clarity awaits within
**First published 2024**
Intuition feels like magic.
It’s an effortless clarity that transcends strategic understanding. You know when the conditions are right. Next steps are obvious. You’re doing the right things for the right reasons in the right way.
It’s like an extra sense.
When was the last time you heard the “still, small voice of intuition?
When was the last time you followed it?
For most of us, it should probably be more often. Intuition is a sophisticated type of knowing. Forbes calls it our highest form of intelligence. Albert Einstein said,
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
Where does intuition come from?
As living organisms, we receive information from many sources. I find these especially helpful when working with coaching clients. I call them the Five Doorways of Mindfulness:
Somatic: what is your body sensing?
Emotional: what are your emotions feeling?
Cognitive: what does your mind think?
Behavioral: what actions are you inclined to take?
Ontological: what do you believe about yourself?
Each of these information sources is needed for cultivating intuition.
Unfortunately, we over rely on cognitive information. In fact, I’d say many of us are addicted to cognitive information.
Looks good on paper, but…
Modern life makes it easy to consume useless cognitive data. It’s like mental candy, full of “empty calories.” This can be both distracting and can harm decision-making.
We prioritize cognitive information so much that most of us think “data” refers only to cognitive facts, like quantities, speeds, weights, and dates. Things you can Google or measure with instruments.
Yet we need all kinds of data to inform our intuition.
Our greatest illusion is to believe that we are what we think ourselves to be.
—H. F. Amiel, quoted by Timothy D. Wilson in Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious
You probably remember a time when something “looked good on paper, but...” You had a decision to make. You made a pros/cons list. It clearly indicated which way to go, whether with the career, the relationship, the new car, etc.
But something inside didn’t feel right.
How did you know it was time to “trust your gut?”
So much more is available to us
Non-cognitive data is available to us every moment. It is rich with insight.
The body can reveal otherwise hidden links between our moods, memories, and current challenges. Emotions let us know when our needs are not being met, or if we’re feeling out of alignment with our values. Behavioral data illuminates underlying assumptions we hold about how to influence life. Ontological information helps us uncover the root “drivers” of our behavior.
Intuition emerges from the synthesis of all these types of information.
(And probably others. In his fascinating book Strangers to Ourselves, Timothy D. Wilson explores the many complex processes “that are inaccessible to consciousness but that influence judgments, feelings, or behavior.”)
Intuition is not like deduction and analysis. It’s more like a capacity that emerges without thinking or effort. It’s an accumulated awareness that discerns insight.
Stewardship and intuition
If you’re in a conversation about wealth for 15 minutes, someone is likely to use the word “stewardship.”
Family Trust Companies build reputations as prudent stewards of their clients’ wealth. Stewardship is at the heart of noblesse oblige, the idea that those with wealth have a responsibility to serve the common good. Philanthropies are meant to “steward” charitable funds through the lens of a donor’s intent.
Cognitive information is over-emphasized here too. Which makes sense.
When you’re caring for large sums of money, especially if it’s someone else’s money, you want to be known as logical, dependable, serious, and prudent. You’re expected to provide an analysis that illustrates the return on investment.
No one asks you, “So, how does investment X register in your body?”
But they should.
In complex systems like our modern world, there is no equation to follow that guarantees an outcome. You need different perspectives and different types of knowing. You “sense” more than calculate. You make judgment calls. You improvise.
All of this is strengthened by intuition.
Learning intuition
Intuition isn’t omniscience. It’s easy to confuse intuition with desire. It takes practice to learn what intuitive signals to pay attention to.
You’ll make mistakes. You’ll learn. Over time, intuition can grow into a powerful source of insight that guides wise action.
As your intuition develops, it’s easier to relax and have greater trust in what is unfolding in your life. It greatly reduces worry, self-doubt, and negative self-talk. You may even become attuned with larger forces that are working on your behalf.
Try this
Here’s a simple exercise to strengthen your intuition.
When deciding how to use your time, don’t make a schedule, prioritize tasks, or create a to-do list. Instead ask yourself intuitive “sensing” questions, like:
What activities feel most energizing to me?
What am I most called to do?
What do I feel ready for now?
What can I do joyfully?
Commit to spending a morning following your intuition in this way. (Or a day or a week!)
What do you notice?