Learn the Reasons Why You Don’t Trust Your Intuition
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Many people don’t trust their intuition for one reason or another. If you include yourself in this group, ask yourself why. Knowing the cause can help you break the issue down and begin to change and grow strong. Once you discover the problem, you will be well on your way to learning how to trust your intuition.
Start with your childhood. No, this doesn’t mean you have to spill your guts to a shrink lying on a couch. However, if you think back to your childhood, it can give you some clues as to why you have developed a distrust of your intuition and perhaps yourself Perhaps your parents were distrustful of themselves. It could also be siblings or other relatives that modeled this. The purpose is not to blame them. Just recognize that it happened and use it to move forward.
Do you find it difficult to trust others?
It’s a situation that causes you to be in a constant mode of distrust. It isn’t too much of a stretch for that mode to extend to you. Therefore, you have to learn how to start putting trust in other people and this will help with learning to trust your intuition. Most people will appreciate you for it also.
Are you an ‘overly’ sensitive person? While I bristle at sensitivity being cast as a negative quality – this could cause you to be mistrustful of your intuition.
You may take what others’ say out of context. That is because of your sensitive nature, often as empaths, we see the bigger picture and while often correct, we have to realize that it is possible we misread what others are saying or feeling.
Putting your trust in others is sometimes going to backfire. Some people are simply not trustworthy. They may even put on a front that they are. As we work to accept this as a part of life and try not to project experiences from a few onto other people. Otherwise, we will continue to maintain our wall of protection.
This wall will make it difficult for you to trust others as well as your own intuition.
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Another reason for not trusting yourself is that others don’t trust you.
If you are not trustworthy, how can you expect to trust yourself? You may not even realize this is happening. You may think you are doing right by others when in fact, you are not being perceived that way. Ask for an honest assessment as to whether your friends and family feel you are trustworthy. The answer can be a hard pill to swallow, but it will offer great insight. Try not to get upset if people tell you that you aren’t trustworthy. It’s a learning experience.
Tips to Increase Trust in Your Intuition
You may have a difficult time trusting your intuition. Don’t despair. You are not alone. It is something that many people experience, and find difficult to overcome. When you lose trust in others, you start to lose trust in yourself and therefore, your intuition.
To help you overcome this problem, you need to focus on key aspects of trust. The first is to have faith in your accomplishments. If you pass off your accomplishments as not being that important, when you need to rely on them, they won’t be there for you. That is sure to interrupt the process of trusting your intuition.
You need to trust your instincts. You won’t always be right, but you will be more often than not. An instinct is something you feel strongly about and does not come only from experiences. Instincts, similar to intuition come from something internal that no one can truly explain. It’s part of that inner voice that is telling you what to do. You need only to listen. How many times have you said to yourself that you should have listened to your instincts?
Should you rely on other people?
If you open yourself up to letting others into your life, you will find that you become more trusting of your intuition and instincts. Whether you like it or not, you need other people. You can’t know everything there is to know about every subject. Use the strengths of others to supplement what you know. It will take the burden away from you to do everything. That will help open the possibilities to put trust in your intuition and yourself.
Try to filter out negative information. You get bombarded with this throughout your life. It occurs every day in the news, at work, and in many cases, your home. The more you learn to focus on positivity in your life, the easier it will be to trust your intuition. A good first step towards this goal is to avoid negative people. They work hard to try to bring you down.
Trusting your intuition sometimes requires a leap of faith.
Take some chances. While you want to be smart and logical, you don’t want to overanalyze every decision you make. If you do, you will never make decisions that grow you, and you will stagnate. It’s true that not everything will work out the way you plan or hope. But, you will never know unless you try. The good news is when you are ready to try, many of your decisions based on your intuition will work for you.
Learn How to Make Mistakes
A big reason why you don’t trust your intuition is you are afraid to make mistakes. It’s a common situation for many people. However, it could be holding you back in your life. When you learn how to make mistakes, you will be ready to start trusting your intuition.
You may have heard people say that nobody is perfect. We should make this a mantra to live by because it’s a true statement. When you make mistakes, you learn from them. That is what makes them so valuable. Of course, if you don’t learn from them, you will be doomed to making the same mistakes repeatedly. That’s why you have to do a post-mortem of your actions and evaluate where you made your error(s)..
If you try too hard to avoid mistakes, you end up making more of them.
That is because no one is perfect. You simply cannot avoid mistakes and you shouldn’t. Learning how to trust your intuition must include choosing to learn from our mistakes.
Sometimes, the mistakes that you make will make people angry with you. It’s a part of life. If this happens, you first have to determine if your mistakes truly affected those people. They have no right to call you out on them. If it turns out that your actions did affect them, do what you can to rectify the situation. A simple apology may be all that is needed.
Just as you would like others to forgive you when you make mistakes, be forgiving of others when they make mistakes, and it affects you. It’s not fair to expect others to forgive you if you aren’t willing to do the same. It’s okay to get angry in certain situations. But, open your heart and let them make amends.
Once you give in to making mistakes, you will find it a freeing experience.
You will no longer need to put too much pressure on yourself to avoid them. Another factor to consider is that mistakes can lead to positive unintended circumstances. Just look at sticky notes by 3M. The researchers at the company set out to create a strong adhesive that resulted in a weak one. Someone at the company took the idea and used it to create the sticky notes product. There have been many instances of mistakes that lead to alternative solutions. These would not have happened if they were trying to avoid the mistakes.
Permit yourself to make mistakes which will help you to trust your intuition.
Stop Relying Too Much on Others
If you have difficulty trusting your intuition, the problem may be that you are too dependent on others. When this happens, you tend to let the situation grow and become further dependent on more and more people. That presents a problem when called upon to handle situations on your own.
Have you ever let someone else take over a part of your job? While you may feel a temporary relief when this happens, you could be setting yourself up for future failure. The reason why it happened is that you didn’t trust that you could do the job yourself.
The above scenario often happens when you are asked to do something outside of your comfort zone. Perhaps, your boss wants to test how you will handle a situation that is new. He or she gives you an assignment knowing that you have never dealt with it before.
It’s natural to ask others for help when you find yourself in unfamiliar territory.
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There is nothing wrong with doing this. However, if you simply let others solve the problems or handle the situations for you, you cannot grow from this. You will never develop trust in your intuition to handle new situations. Your boss may see that you, in essence, passed the assignment onto someone else, whether directly or indirectly.
When presented with something that you haven’t experienced before, maintain a positive attitude. Always be willing to try even if you make mistakes. The mistakes are the tools for you to learn. When you do make those mistakes, ask what you did wrong. Over time, those mistakes will get less and less, and you will begin to trust that you can handle the situations.
A subtle consequence will result from trying something new. You will prove that you can handle new tasks and develop new skills. That is enlightening and is a big factor in developing trust in your intuition.
Every skill you are now good at and find easy you probably struggled with at the start. If you keep this in mind, you will give yourself over to trusting that you can handle anything that comes your way. You won’t need to rely on others as much.
You still should ask questions when you are unsure about something. That is another part of how you learn. Some people may give you a hard time because it’s inconvenient. But, you will find most people want to help you succeed. It helps them when you get up to speed with new skills.
Trust Your Intuition and Confidence Go Hand-in-Hand
If you have had a difficult time trusting your intuition, it may be a sign that you lack confidence. You cannot develop any trust in your intuition without confidence. Feel secure in your abilities and be strong in your convictions. But, know when you are wrong as well.
The above requires you to develop confidence. That may seem scary to you. However, it’s not as difficult as you think. No one is born with confidence. It is something people learn and develop during their lives. It’s the same for you.
Take steps to develop your confidence and trusting your intuition will become easier.
Fear is the biggest detractor of confidence. When you give in to your fears, you will diminish the chances of building up your confidence. That is something that deepens if you don’t handle it quickly. We need to face your fears head-on.
That doesn’t mean you should throw caution to the wind and be reckless. You should take chances but only if they won’t put your life or others’ lives in danger. You would not jump out of a plane without a parachute. Don’t make frivolous decisions, either. Confidence is about knowing the difference.
Start out with small tasks that you have been afraid to try in the past. Most outcomes will turn out better than you imagine. If you try to project what will happen, and it is always a negative outcome, you will never make any decisions. Take on those small tasks without thinking too much about what’s going to happen. That will build up your confidence as you’ve never seen before.
You should ask questions when you aren’t sure about the situations you face. Confidence is not about having all the answers. It’s about knowing where to find them and who to rely on with the knowledge that you need. It’s also about pulling the trigger when you have gathered enough information.
Confidence is about taking responsibility for your decisions and your actions.
If you believe in what you are doing, you can portray that belief to others who are affected by your decisions. You will come across as being weak if you start blaming others when your situation doesn’t go as planned. Once this happens, others will lose faith in you. That will cause your confidence to erode, and self-doubt will take over. When you make your decisions, own them, even if they don’t work out.
When you increase your confidence, you will automatically increase trusting your intuition. Then, you can accomplish more than you ever imagined.
Learn How to Trust Your Intuition by Observing Others
Have you ever observed people who you felt were confident? They know what to do in most situations. Even when they don’t, they know how to find the answers. They never let problems get in their way. They always know how to talk to people. Their confidence is their power.
It’s likely these confident people trust themselves. It seems impossible to have confidence when you don’t trust your intuition. The confidence comes from an internal trust. It makes sense when you think about it.
If you don’t know too many people who are confident, try to learn about successful people. One great way to do this is to check out TED Talks. If you are not familiar with these, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It’s an organization that exists to spread ideas usually in video form. You can find many of these talks on YouTube.com. Just search for TED Talks.
Many of these videos are short but with high impact. It’s unlikely you will find speakers that don’t have confidence. You can observe the speakers in the video and see how they speak. Also, observe their body language. Do they smile a lot? How do they engage with the audience?
Another source to draw inspiration is books.
Read biographies of successful people. Be on the lookout for confidence when reading through biographies. The biography may not be specifically about confidence. But, it usually resonates through the story.
Look to take on a mentor. You will know when someone is right for you because you will both form a kindred relationship from the start. Mentors should trust their intuition and have confidence. Otherwise, it’s unlikely you would pick those people to be your mentor. You can establish a formal mentor relationship, or you can just keep in contact with someone who you respect.
You will naturally take on some positive attributes just by being in this relationship. However, it doesn’t hurt to observe how your mentor interacts with others and how they solve problems.
When you observe or reach out to confident people, it will help you become more confident. You can see what you are doing wrong and make changes. When you become confident, lack of trust in your intuition will be a thing of the past.
Being a Perfectionist May Be a Sign of Not Trusting Your Intuition
Are you a perfectionist? If so, your expectations may be set too high. It is an admirable trait to want everything to be perfect. The trouble is there is no time for it. You will also find that most people aren’t perfectionists. You are certain to be disappointed in them.
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We need to learn how to manage expectations. It is a delicate balance, and you have to know when you have done as much as you should.
You can always do more, but you need to move on.
Another problem with perfectionism is you may miss opportunities. Suppose you decide to hold off releasing a product because you want to put more features into it. You delay the release of the product by several months, only to find that your competitors are finished releasing their versions. The product you would have released was better than your competitors. Customers would have likely bought your products over your competitors. Try explaining that one to management or shareholders!
Further, if you miss those opportunities to get your product released, you will miss building relationships with your customers. Product releases have marketing activities associated with them, including sharing experiences on social media, etc. When customers have good experiences with products, they share those experiences with friends and family. Often, this sharing occurs on social media channels, which in turn, can go viral. It’s more challenging to build up a product that is not yet released than it is to build up one that is.
There are cases where perfectionism is warranted.
Show business is one example. Medical techniques and technologies are another. In most other fields, perfectionism will hold you back. It’s not necessary, and it only leads to frustration and delays.
Of course, I am not advocating releasing products that have a sloppy design or are dangerous to the consumer. That is where this delicate balance comes into play. The product needs to meet safety guidelines. Your reputation is at stake. In this case, it may be necessary to delay the release of products until they are safe, etc.
How does being a perfectionist a sign that you don’t trust your intuition? You think that nothing is ever good enough and that you have to keep striving to be better. When you trust your intuition you can reel expectations to manageable levels.
Stop Being a Know-It-All & Start Trusting Your Intuition
Knowledge is great. It gives you the power to make decisions and even keeps you from making the wrong ones. However, if you get to the point where you believe you know everything, that is going to hurt your ability to make those decisions. At that point, you will lose trust in your abilities and your intuition.
You are one smart cookie. Perhaps you went to a renowned college which landed you a great job after graduation. Once you started working, however, you got fixated that you know everything there is to know. That is when you are in danger of losing your edge. You will start to make bad decisions that could end up costing you a job or two.
It is important to trust yourself with the knowledge you have learned. However, times and technologies change, and you need to be ready for those changes. Too many people get left behind by getting comfortable in their current knowledge.
You should always stay in learning mode, no matter where you went to school or how much knowledge you think you have. In a constantly changing world, you’ll be way ahead of others, and it will give you the tools you need to trust your decisions and your God-given intuition.
Your Children May Not Trust Themselves
If you don’t trust your intuition, your children may not trust themselves, either. It’s likely that you developed a mistrust for your intuition from your parents. It is something that you picked up as a kid, and it carried to your adult life. You pass it on to your kids, and they will continue the process to their kids.
Your actions and conversations may be subtle. Your kids will hear what you and your spouse talk about as well as discussions by, or with, other family members. You may well do things that you’re not even aware of, but your children will pick up on those as well.
Guardline SecurityIt’s a difficult situation because you want your kids to be safe.
You can’t just let them trust everyone who they speak to or meet. It’s a dangerous world, and kids can become victims if you don’t teach them to be cautious. And, to trust their instincts and intuition.
Trusting your intuition requires trusting others, and that’s where the difficulty comes in. You have likely been burned by a few people enough times to warrant your caution. But, these experiences are going to resonate with your children, and you should try to find a balance between getting them to trust people while remaining cautious.
Of course, you want to teach your kids always to be trustworthy themselves, even if others are not to them.
It will be nearly impossible for them to trust themselves if they are not trustworthy. If they let others down, they won’t have any reason to develop an internal trust. That means that you and your spouse will have to be trustworthy.
You may be trustworthy to kids but not to other people. That can send the wrong signals to children if you tell them they should be trustworthy to others. It will leave them confused and unsure of what to do. That will lead to the long-term behavior of not being trustworthy, which means they won’t trust themselves or their own intuition.
Be sure to talk to your kids to help them develop the balance between caution and trust.
If they have questions, be open to answering them. Try not to take offense if they feel you are sending mixed signals with regards to trust. When you find that balance and your kids find it too, your family will have the necessary means to trust each other and your intuition. It’s not easy, but it is definitely worth the effort. You just have to keep at it.
Your Romantic Relationships May Fail If You Don’t Trust Your Intuition
You may find it difficult to have a stable romantic relationship if you don’t trust your intuition. Any partner could lose confidence in you over time. You could be constantly doubting yourself. You may find it difficult to make decisions.
Romantic relationships have a foundation of trust. While you may believe you trust your partner, it’s difficult to continue if you don’t trust yourself, your instincts, and your intuition. You may likely put yourself down constantly in front of your partner. He or she may sympathize with you in the beginning, but the behavior will get old after a while.
Contrast this behavior with trusting your intuition.
Your confidence will exude to your partner. Most people find this attribute attractive and will bring about a more responsive partner. You will have your needs met both emotionally and physically. That is sure to make you happier in your relationship.
If you don’t trust your intuition, it’s not likely you will share your feelings easily with your partner. Relationships build around communication as well as trust. If you cannot communicate with your partner, this could break you apart.
A lack of trust in your intuition will not lead you to a positive attitude.
You may project negativity to anyone you associate with, including your partner. Try to put yourself in his or her shoes. Would you want to hang around someone who is constantly negative? It’s quite likely you won’t. Over time, you will look for ways to avoid that person. The same could happen to you. People will avoid you if you are negative.
It is okay to share your feelings with your partner, even if those feelings are occasionally negative. It’s almost impossible to be positive 100% of your life. You just have to strike a balance and work towards being more positive than negative. That cannot happen if you doubt yourself and don’t have an internal trust.
It takes work, but you will have a better chance of having a great romantic relationship if you trust your intuition than if you don’t. Your partner will be excited to be with you and will want to spend time with you. Your partner will be happier which will make you happier. You have the choice of remaining closed and lacking trust in yourself and your intuition or opening up and gaining the confidence to have the best possible relationship.
In Conclusion, intuition is God-given and should not be ignored!
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