I’m going to be candid. None of us are perfect.
Take a moment to get over the initial shock.
Good? Okay!
Now, let’s talk about what that means when it comes to intuitive intelligence. All joking aside, it’s so important to know that when you’re learning to truly embrace your intuition, there are going to be roadblocks. In reality, these roadblocks that will seem like mountains at first, are really just small bumps in your journey. You can be a life-long intuitive and still struggle with feeling off track from time to time. I’m speaking from experience on this one!
Let’s imagine a scenario. Really, maybe you don’t even have to imagine – maybe you’ve lived this very situation, or you’re living it as you’re reading.
You’ve just started a new job. But not just a new job – the new job. You applied months ago, went through a grueling interview process, and now here you are. Your first few weeks have exceeded your every expectation. You’re getting comfortable in your new role, feeling confident in the ideas you present to your team – just really finding your groove.
Then your boss approaches you and tells you they’re thrilled with what you’ve been bringing to the table. So thrilled, in fact, that they’d like you to consider taking on some greater responsibility. Wait… a promotion? The words manifest in your mind immediately. You should be thrilled! In fact, those are the first things you feel – elation, excitement, ambition.
But only for a moment. Then a mountain of other feelings rush through you, and that elation – that excitement – is a distant memory. There are people who have been here for years that are going to be so upset. Will they resent me? I’ve only been here a few weeks – do I know enough to take this on? What if I fail? I have a great thing going – I can’t risk screwing it up so quickly! The thoughts come quickly and drown out all your initial feelings (the feelings you rightfully deserve, by the way!)
You give in to the pressure of your thoughts – read: fears – and you graciously tell your boss that while you are appreciative, you’d like to spend some more time getting comfortable with the company. They tell you they appreciate your honesty – then promptly offer the opportunity to someone else. Hey, good leaders know they still have to move forward.
It’s not long after – as you watch another team member step up and thrive – that you’re wondering if you made the right choice. Regret is real, and when you allow external influences to take away from what you know – what you intuitively know – it can be powerful.
Your first instinct in this scenario was elation, excitement, and more than likely an overwhelming feeling of “I’ve got this.” So, what happened? It’s simple, really. External triggers – wondering what others may think, questioning your abilities, giving in to pre-conditioned ideas (“I haven’t been here long enough to deserve a promotion”) – swayed you from trusting your gut.
We are so often conditioned to believe that things are supposed to happen a certain way, and that people are going to react in certain ways to events – the “shoulds” of the world – that we let that preconditioning overtake our own intuitive intelligence.
It happens all the time, and it happens to the best of us. The best thing you can do? Treat it as a learning experience. Use it to grow, evolve, and further develop your growth mindset. There is no room for self-deprecation in intuition – only learning. Take situations like these and use them as fuel for your intuitive fire, so that the next time you have that first instinct – that initial gut feeling – you can start creating your own preconditioning to make sure you listen!
My passion is to help those struggling with scenarios just like these to overcome their fears, remove the obstacles we create for ourselves, and find more confidence in their decision-making. It’s amazing how when we find a way to get out of our own way, the most substantial growth of our lifetime can be waiting right on the other side. Let’s connect today!