How often have you found yourself facing a new situation or problem and you say, “I just have to figure it out.”?
Because if you could figure it out, you’d know what to do next. Right?
News Flash: While some problems are best solved through the analytical process, other problems are best solved through the intuitive process.
If the situation or problem in front of you is multi-faceted (too many parts to separately evaluate and analyze) or involve emotions and relationships, an intuitive approach works best.
Your most important problems in work and life are typically intuitive. Problems like:
- Major life decisions like career and relationships – Do you pursue a new job because the one you have now isn’t fueling you even though your current job gives you the much-needed income and health benefits so you can provide for your family?
- Crafting a long-term vision and direction for your business, your team, your life – What are the sudden advances in knowledge or technique that would help team members approach organizational culture differently than the way we are currently doing it?
- Breakthrough “thinking” to arrive at an innovative solution – What is the biggest hassle about using or buying our product or service that people unnecessarily tolerate without knowing it?
Big, complicated problems like the ones above require you to take a higher perspective which is what your Intuitive Mind does exceedingly well.
Your Intuitive mind sees beyond the horizon to find patterns in vast amounts of data and possibilities that can’t be seen through “hard” thinking.
In other words, taking a higher perspective is what’s needed to develop your vision and strategy.
When you find yourself saying or thinking, “I just have to figure this out” what you’re doing is allowing your Analytical Mind to take over. And that’s a big mistake because if you are all up in your head, trying to analyze your way through a complex problem, you won’t be able to see the big picture.
Vision comes from your Intuitive mind.
While your Analytical Mind is an incredible tool, it doesn’t have the depth and wisdom like your Intuitive Mind has. You need to use both your Intuitive and Analytic Minds to solve problems and make decisions but for complex decisions, you need to begin with your Intuitive Mind to get the big picture and then, once you have your vision in place, you invite your Analytical Mind to join the party.
Intuition is a powerful tool and it takes confidence to work with it and be with it. Here are three ways you can begin accessing your intuition to make better decisions.
Accessing Your Intuition
- Feed your mind with all the relevant data/research/information because your Intuitive Mind needs this to do pattern-matching.
- Calmly ask your mind to work on the question and allow it to “percolate.”
- Create multiple opportunities to hear the whisper of your Intuitive Mind because, oftentimes, what is being spoken to you is in the form of a whisper. This may be calmly asking your mind the question before going to sleep and then, when you awake, lay there for a moment to reflect on your question again and listen to what’s coming forward before you do anything else (like check your phone or jump out of bed).
If you’re all up in your head, trying to figure things out, I can help you increase your confidence in working with your intuitive mind.
I’m offering a small group program, Chart Your Path to Emotional Wisdom: A Mental Fitness Practicum that teaches you how to quiet the mind chatter of your analytical mind so you can hear the whispers of your intuitive mind.
