Unlocking The Power Of Informed Intuition
Learn how to unlock the power of informed intuition and make wise decisions when it comes to living well with chronic illness.
When something feels right, it usually is. And, the opposite is also true.
But, how do you tune into this inner voice that can help to guide you?
And, how do you make sure that inner voice knows what it is talking about?
I’ll tell you in two words - “informed intuition.” This means using logic and facts backed up by a trusting connection with your intuition.
Informed intuition can help you make decisions that feel right and true for you, while being sensible at the same time. In this blog post, I want to share some tips on how to tap into this powerful combination and make sure your inner voice is giving you advice worth listening to.
Informed Intuition And Chronic Illness
On your path to living well with a chronic illness, you usually can’t get all the answers you need from one outside source. As a result, you need to be able to do your research AND tune into your informed intuition to guide you to find what is best for you.
This doesn’t mean consulting your Magic 8 Ball. This means gathering practical information from reliable sources that can help your decision-making process. Then, you can combine that information with your intuition about what is right for you.
When you combine your practical knowledge with your intuition, you can tap into a powerful tool that will guide you towards the right decisions. You can make choices that are not only sensible, but all so feel right and true for you.
Owning Your Decisions
When faced with important choices in your life with chronic illness, the ultimate decision for care, treatment, and lifestyle is ultimately up to you. This is why it is important to own your role as the CEO of your life and health so that you can make decisions that feel right. (Read more here).
For example, when your doctor gives you treatment options, the ultimate decision making authority is you. Sometimes, the treatment options can involve high stakes. And, no one is typically there to guarantee an outcome. Therefore, it makes sense that you would want to make an informed decision.
As a health coach, I have some tools at my disposal to help weigh the pros and cons of options. However, what is really invaluable is when you can step back, utilize the combination of practical knowledge with listening to and trusting yourself.
Tuning Into What You Know
One thing that I have experienced in my health coaching practice is that we individually tend to know what is right for us on some level. We might not be open to what we are feeling at a particular time. And, we might have reasons for avoiding the signals. But, ultimately, we know what is right for ourselves.
Sometimes we just need a little help to tune into what we already know. Whether it's a question that sparks a realization or some more research that confirms our intuition, it's all about listening to the clues that our bodies and minds are giving us.
Want More Support?
For more information on accessing your Informed Intuition, let’s chat! Reach out to me here.
When You Need More Clarity
However, when your informed intuition is not immediately clear, sometimes we need a little help to get there. This might require being asked the right question, spending more time thinking about it, doing more research, or facing a reality that we might be avoiding for some reason.
6 Ways To Access Your Informed Intuition
1. Do Your Research
I know this doesn’t sound like tuning into your intuition AT ALL. But, how can you really get to the point of making a decision if you have not explored your options? Whether you are utilizing the advice of your healthcare providers, doing your own additional research, talking to other similarly situated patients, or gaining knowledge through patient groups or communities, getting a whole-picture view can be incredibly helpful to make sure you have what you need to make your own decision. When we take time to really search before deciding, no matter how big or small our choices are - we can trust ourselves more fully knowing they were made from an informed place.
2. Listen to your inner voice
We often want that crystal-ball moment where everything suddenly makes sense. But sometimes what's most important is just listening carefully to your inner wisdom and asking yourself: how will a particular decision look a year from now (or five years from now)? What just feels right (or wrong)? Weighing the pros & cons of all options can help you figure out which path best aligns with your core values...so trust in YOU--you know better than anyone else!
3. Have a conversation
It's so easy to get stuck in our heads when we need to make a tough decision. That's why talking it out can be such an effective way of getting clarity on the situation - hearing ourselves articulate our thoughts and feelings is sometimes all that’s needed for us to gain insight into what might work best for us! Having support from your loved ones or a certified health coach like myself, can help you sort through everything without being pushed one way or another – allowing you the time and space to come up with whatever works best for YOU.
4. Journal
Writing things out on paper can sometimes give us a whole different perspective. It is similar to having a clarifying conversation except that the conversation is with ourselves. Try writing about the pros and cons of an option AND the pros and cons of not choosing that option. This exercise can help bring clarity to your thoughts and decisions.
5. TRY Meditation
It can be guided or not. But, there is something about sitting still and meditating that helps to bring forth answers. Meditation settles our mind and body enough to help us focus on physical feelings or allow thoughts to emerge. This can be tremendously helpful in distilling what is more important and gaining clarity on what feels right.
6. Find Patience
Sometimes we just need more time or information before we are ready to make a decision. That in and of itself is information. Taking the time to notice what we need to do to make a decision can require patience. Unless you are in an emergency situation, you can usually take time to think things through.
Living well with a chronic illness can be a challenging journey, but there is one trusted expert that can provide guidance like no other - YOU.
You can harness the power of your informed intuition to make decisions that are right for you.
If you could use help tuning into your informed intuition - let’s talk and explore how we could work together! Reach out here.
what do you need to do in order to learn how best to trust that inner voice?
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