What Does Intuition Feel Like

Remember when you last started a job which you ended up disliking? Throughout your first day, you may have heard a voice in your head, saying that the position perhaps isn’t the best for you.

Then, throughout your next shifts, your colleagues continue to train you. Until – they start to warn you about your boss. The job then became so stressful to the point where you feel constantly exhausted and tired. The work environment wasn’t the best.

And when you left, you clearly remember the voice inside your head, warning you of the potential danger.

This voice is known as your intuition. Although we frequently mistake intuition as fear, here are some ways to distinguish these feelings:

How is Intuition Different From Fear?

Intuition is known as your ‘sixth sense.’ Your intuitive sense will guide you and provide you with a feeling of what you think may be the result of your decision. It’s a gut instinct feeling from your subconscious mind that guides you to make better decisions.

Intuitive guidance from your unconscious mind can manifest in behaviors and an intuitive feeling that pervades the rational mind.

When you’re following your intuition, you may find it difficult to reason why you feel a certain way. But regardless of what, your gut feeling is leading you towards a specific direction. That gut feeling is usually based on past memories, and observances.

However, similar to intuition, fear is also a feeling based on years of experience. As a result of previous challenges, you may feel uncomfortable in certain environments. Fear might be present when we are moving out of our comfort zone or have to make major decisions. There’s a good chance you’ll experience fear and intuition together in different times of your life.

But unlike intuition, fear is more so based on beliefs and emotions programmed into us. When we feel fear, we tend to be more emotional: Fear mainly comes from our ego and our own sense of insecurity.

On the other hand, being intuitive tends to mean one is being more rational than emotional. It comes from a place of within, even if we cannot fully explain why. And instead of insecurity, intuition comes from confidence and self-love.

How are signs of fear different from signs of intuition?

When you’re feeling fear, your physical body will alert you in a certain way. You may feel your heart pounding, or experience feelings of dread and terror.

On the other hand, when you’re experiencing intuition, you may have a wave of calmness wash over you. Even though something seems intimidatingly new, you still feel that it’s the right path for you.

Moreover, fear tends to come from a place of limitation; this is especially true when you feel like you’re being held back in life.

Intuition comes from feeling a sense of freedom and trust that everything will work out in the end.

Fear and intuition can be intertwined, but as time goes on, you’ll be able to tell the difference.

Fear is more of a heightened, short-lived feeling. You might experience it leading up to an event that you are dreading. Intuition is more an an all-knowing, general feeling. This could be a general unease or a sense of acceptance.

Intuition vs Fear: How to tell them apart?

One way to tell the difference between intuition and fear is by listening to your body. When you’re feeling a physical gut reaction, check in with yourself. Is this a symptom of stress or excitement? If it’s more excitement than anything else, that may be an indication of intuition.

Another way to tell them apart is by paying attention to your thoughts. When you’re considering an important decision, make sure that the thoughts and ideas you have aren’t based on fear or insecurity.

Fear often manifests as anxious thoughts whereas intuition is more of a pervasive feeling – an intuitive hit of “knowing” if you will.

Think back to similar situations in the past in which you knew you were afraid – how did that feel? Does it feel similarly to how you feel now? Or differently?

If they are, pause for a moment and ask yourself: Is this really what I want? If it isn’t, then use your intuition to guide you on what would be the best decision moving forward.

Lastly, it’s always important to practice self-care when deciding between fear and intuition. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, take a break or practice some relaxation techniques.

Take time for yourself and focus on calming your mind by doing activities that bring you joy. The more relaxed and open your mind is, the easier it will be to hear your intuition’s voice.

Remember, at the end of the day, fear may keep you from taking risks or making decisions that could potentially lead to great success. Intuition can help guide you in a positive direction, so trust yourself and what you feel. Listening to your intuition could lead you to a more fulfilling life.

This doesn’t mean that fear should be completely ignored; understanding and acknowledging it can help protect us from potential danger or problems. But, when trying to make decisions, always allow yourself trust in your own intuition. Make sure that it is your guiding force instead of fear.

Making the best decisions for yourself and your future may feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Keeping faith in yourself and trusting your intuition will lead you down the right path that is meant just for you. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes; allowing yourself to take risks can lead to life-changing opportunities.

What does intuition feel like?

Now that we understand the differences between intuition and fear, we can learn how to distinguish the physical and emotional signs of intuition.

Emotional signs:

Intuition can manifest itself in many of our emotions and thoughts. We may experience different feelings towards certain decisions. Here are some signs:

1. Experiencing a strong feeling

When you enter a new work environment, or a new school atmosphere, what are your feelings trying to convey?

If most of these feelings convey the same meaning, chances are that you’re being intuitive to your surroundings.

2. Feeling calm and confident about your decision

When you’re in a state of fear or insecurity, you are constantly questioning your decision. But with intuition, you’ll experience a state of inner calmness.

Instead of hearing one million voices in your head, you’ll hear one strong voice which guides you towards your destination. It’s almost as if your soul is guiding you.

3. Feeling curious

If you desire to learn more about a situation or a person, the curiosity which you feel, may be a sign of intuition.

This usually happens amongst friends and colleagues. Think of the first time you met your former best friend. Although she may have been pleasant to you, you may have felt that she may be hiding her true intentions.

But whatever it is, you became more curious about your new friend and asked them why they are behaving in a certain manner? Then, it became too late and your friendship with them ended abruptly. So next time, pay close attention to what you feel curious about, and why.

4. Feeling positive about a decision

You may have experienced plenty of challenges previously, but when you decide to make a change and feel positively about it, chances are that you’re following your intuition.

Your intuition is leading you to a better place, which is also known as ‘post-traumatic growth.’

5. You find it difficult to let go of certain thoughts

Tons of thoughts enter our mind on a daily basis. But there may be that persistent thought which you can never forget or let go.

If the thought is about a certain situation, pay close attention to it. You’ll never know what will happen, so it’s always good to be prepared and follow the hints.

6. You notice a sequence

Have you ever been through a moment in life when you realized that one good moment led to another?

If this is the case, you’re experiencing synchronicity, which indicates that you’re on the right path. Throughout this time period, you may meet other people who work in your desired field, or you may meet others who went through the same challenges and struggles as you.

7. Patterns re-emerge

Just like how ‘history repeats itself,’ you may notice patterns re-emerging from your past experiences to your current ones.

For example, if you notice some similarities between your former work environments and your current one, you may need to examine the situation more closely.

After all, intuition is about recognizing these patterns and seeing what these patterns are trying to indicate.

8. You feel alert

When you’re intuitive, you often will be alert of the environment and surroundings which you’re surrounded by.

When you feel strongly about a certain decision, it’s a way for your body to communicate and guide you. And the stronger you feel about a certain path, the more alert you’ll be.

Physical Symptoms and Signs of Intuition:

Intuition can manifest itself in a physical aspect as well. You may find not only your emotions, but your body also reacting in a certain manner. A conscious awareness of body language can be the first sign that your intuition is talking to you in specific situations.

Here are some examples below:

9. Experiencing a ‘knot in our stomach’

Let’s go back to the beginning of the article, and think of the job we disliked. Throughout our orientation and training, we may have experienced a queasy feeling in our stomach.

In the beginning, we may be surprised as we didn’t expect it. However, the queasy feeling can indicate that the job may not be as enjoyable as predicted. It’s like a warning sign, which tells us to beware of what’s coming.

10. Goosebumps

Similar to experiencing a stomachache, we may also experience goosebumps. Our gut feeling is telling us to be careful of our surroundings, and of the person we meet.

The goosebumps indicate that there’s something chilling about the situation, and we may feel uncomfortable if it continues.

11. Your Heart Pounds

Our hearts also indicate our emotions. So if your heart starts to race, you may be reacting to the situation in a manner which you can’t decipher.

But regardless of what, your heart does indicate subconscious cues. So you should listen to it carefully.

12. Unusual Feeling of Sickness

Intuition does affect your nervous system to an extent. And when you picked up the previous job, you may have realized that you’re feeling sick often.

If these feelings continue to happen, be sure to listen to your body and take the appropriate reaction. Your intuition is telling you that something isn’t right.

13. Headaches

Next time when you make a decision, pay attention to how you feel. If you get a headache, your intuition may be indicating that you made the wrong decision. Instead, the correct decision should clear your head.

14. A Long Illness

When you made the wrong decision, you may have felt sick for a long period of time. However, the disease may actually be a result of your intuition saying that you should watch out for yourself.

When this happens, please take note of your environment. And be prepared and alert of your surroundings.

What happens when you ignore your intuition?

Intuition can lead to better decision-making and efficiency. Sometimes, when you ignore your intuition, it can often feel devastating and lead to burnout.

Fortunately, not all hope is lost. There are signs which indicate that you’re ignoring your gut feelings. Here are some of them:

1. You feel devastated

Have you ever felt sad about not making the correct decision and wish that you travelled back in time to redo all of your mistakes?

When you feel devastated, you may start to ignore your intuition and make decisions based on emotions and fear. In fact, research indicates that people experiencing depression tend to face more challenges when making decisions based on intuition.

So if all of a sudden, you feel unhappy about a current decision you made, ask yourself if you can retrace some steps and see what your inner voice is telling you to do.

2. Indecisiveness

In many cases, intuition is the key to good and effective decision-making. After all, it’s about recognizing past patterns from previous experiences and preventing their re-emergence in the future.

But if you constantly notice that you’re going back and forth between decisions, you may be ignoring your inner voice.

3. You revisit past decisions

We are all taught to look ahead into the future. But when you revisit past decisions, you may feel a sense of insecurity. You may be asking yourself, “Why did I do this in the past?” or “What could I have done differently?”

Whether you’re revisiting decisions because something feels unfinished, or if you’re devastated by the outcome, you have ignored your gut feelings.

What to do next time:

If you notice that you’re experiencing some of these signs currently, don’t worry – you have a chance to change your attitude and turn things around. In the future, if you want to listen to your intuition more in order to better guide yourself, you can find different ways to stay grounded.

Some of these ways include meditation, journaling, and paying close attention to your body. By doing all of these, you’re connecting with your own thoughts and emotions, and learning how to self-reflect. Constant self-reflection leads to better self-awareness, which will allow you to understand and recognize the different signs of intuition.

Moreover, you can also spend more time in nature and escape from your daily routine. This will allow you to clear your head from daily distractions, and better recognize indicators.

How can you act on your intuition?

Once you’ve recognized when to trust your intuition, you need to act on it. Acting on your intuition may be intimidating at first – but take a deep breath and remember that the end result will be worth it.

Take a moment before making any decision and evaluate how you feel about them. Do they make sense logically? Do they align with your values and principles? Are you confident in the decisions you’re making?

If you answer yes to all of these questions, then go for it. It may be hard to take the risk, but trust that your intuition will lead you in the right direction.

Moreover, make sure to surround yourself with people who can aid and support your decisions. Speak to people who believe in you and will act as a sounding board for your ideas. This will help give you the confidence move forward with your intuition.

The key is to learn how to trust yourself, and believe that everything will be okay in the end. That way, even if things don’t turn out perfectly, you can still learn to appreciate the process and grow from it.

Stay brave, and trust your intuition – you never know where it will lead you.

And finally, use any feedback that comes your way constructively. Not everyone may agree with the decisions that you make – but try to take those comments positively and use them to help inform future decisions. Remember, mistakes are part of growth. Celebrate even the tiniest successes and build on them!

By taking these steps, you’ll gain more confidence in your decision-making abilities. And make sure to take a moment and celebrate how far you’ve come – it will remind you that trusting your intuition can bring forth amazing results!

In Summary: What Does Intuition Feel Like?

Intuition presents itself in many emotional and physical ways. Sometimes when we have intuitive experiences, we can have a hard time distinguishing what our intuition is trying to tell us.

Oftentimes, the first step and best way to get a clear sign leading you to the right answer, is to get some space from the situation. If you can give yourself physical and mental space, you’ll get more clarity and be able to process more information with rational thought.

This is especially try when it comes to making a tough decision. Take some time away from social media and processing too much information. Remember, rest is a valuable tool!

So, when we’re feeling strongly about a decision to the point where our bodies are reacting, chances are that we’ll have to stay alert in order to prepare for what will happen in the future.

When we ignore our intuition, we may recognize a few signs as well. However, even if it becomes difficult to change a decision we made, intuition can prepare us for future challenges and situations. So by understanding ourselves and staying grounded, we’ll be prepared to tackle whatever comes. And that’s what matters the most.

About the Author

---