Intuition Everywhere

MANY STUDIES IN PSYCHOLOGY TELL US THAT INTUITION IS A VERY REAL PROCESS WHERE THE BRAIN MAKES USE OF PAST EXPERIENCES, ALONG WITH INTERNAL SIGNALS AND CUES FROM THE ENVIRONMENT, TO HELP US MAKE A DECISION. THIS DECISION HAPPENS SO QUICKLY THAT IT DOESN'T REGISTER WITH OUR CONSCIOUS MIND ... WRITES ANTONIA STANTON.

WHAT do the late Anita Roddick, Sara Blakely and Oprah Winfrey have in common?

Sure, they’re each known for trailblazing, market-disrupting entrepreneurship in their respective industries, and have about a gazillion dollars between them combined, but the one thing they really had in common? Intuition. The quiet, yet powerful, force that leads the way. Often referred to as a “Gut feeling” or “Just knowing”, intuition is one of the most lethal tools a girl can have – and it’s one that isn’t limited to your personal life.

Intuition is the subtle voice within us that speaks without words. It’s a language only you can understand. Think about it – every time you’ve been faced with a dilemma that feels like choosing between a rock and a hard place; your gut was there, telling you what to do, guiding you along the windy, whiplash-inducing road in a quiet voice that speaks for your deepest desires and core values. Every time you’ve been put in an uncomfortable or new situation and your heart beats faster and your palms get sweatier: that’s your inner voice, screaming, “Get out and break free”. Cultivating Intuition: Mind, body and everywhere else. Your inner voice is akin to a muscle, strengthened with practice, attention and care. If you’re a woman, chances are you’re already ripped –women are commonly credited with having a strong sense of intuition, likely due to practising empathy and emotional intelligence from a young age. Women aren’t a monolith, though, and so there are bound to be women struggling with this.

Intuition can be cultivated and developed through creating space for quiet reflection and mindfulness. The skill of having conversations with yourself, of weighing out the pros and cons of every situation in your mind as they roll towards you is a necessary one in a world where your choices and options are pretty much limitless – practising meditation and looking within oneself for the answers allows for a universe of clarity. Creative expression, therapy, and journaling can all take you on this journey. What does this situation bring me? How does it make your inner child feel? Why do you think you reacted that way to something that happened today? The theory is – the more you talk to your gut, the more it’ll talk back. If you can learn to roll with the punches, they won’t feel like punches at all. Every perceived setback, ending, and beginning has hidden paths and opportunities that an intuitive woman can sense, as long as she’s in touch with her subconscious.

The human mind and its connection to the rest of the body is a mysterious thing – oftentimes, we’ll be getting signals from our body before our conscious mind even catches up. This is your subconscious manifesting itself to you. When your heart rate elevates, or blush, or pat your hair down; those are all subconscious feelings and emotions manifesting themselves in your body. Mastering your mind-body connection and intuition will not only allow you to become aware of these signs and file them away for later consideration, but can also allow you to control how you’re perceived by other people. Other truly intuitive people can pick up on the signals that your body unknowingly sends out, and to become aware of it is to become in control of it.

In a world of social media and disruptive innovation, every edge is necessary – being mindful of body language and open, clear communication to overcome barriers in authority and interpersonal relationships is the way towards making sure everyone in a situation, personal or professional, is satisfied and giving their all. What hidden problems and struggles are your village facing? What can you do to open up the conversation, and how do you show them that you’re receptive and willing to have difficult discussions in order to build a better future?

Trusting Intuition in Decision Making

One of the greatest challenges in harnessing your intuition is learning how to trust it amidst the noise of external influence and regular, ‘rational’ analysis. To be clear, it probably is true that you shouldn’t make business decisions purely based on your gut feeling – but what regular logic and outside parties don’t see is that truly harnessing your intuition doesn’t mean you have to write those things off and follow every whim that strikes you. Rather, to intuit the best path forward, those things must be taken into consideration. A lot of us may be guilty of going with the flow and doing what seems best in the moment, but who is to say that intuition and rationality are complete opposites? The key is to be self aware enough to distinguish true intuition from impulse. Equipped with both of those tools, you may find yourself in opportunities and ideas that truly align with your desires and needs.

Despite logic and reasoning, though, sometimes the distance between your current and dream self requires a leap of faith to cross. Time and again, successful entrepreneurs attest to the pivotal role intuition plays in their decision-making process. Oprah Winfrey, media mogul and philanthropist, famously relies on her intuition, referring to it as her “inner GPS” that guides her towards opportunities aligned with her purpose. JK Rowling, Sara Blakely, and Anita Roddick all followed a similar leap-offaith, just-keep-going attitude – and they’re all known for shattering their own respective glass ceilings.

Embracing Feminine Wisdom

Don’t let a world dominated by masculine paradigms of success and thinking scare you away from using your intuition. Rather than striving to fit into predefined moulds of what a leader should look like, women have the unique ability to embrace their innate feminine wisdom and harness its power to lead empathically and powerfully whilst remaining loyal to their moral and ethical goals and beliefs. Using your intuition paves a path towards a new type of leadership that isn’t authoritarian, suffocating and overly corporate – which can only benefit you, your team, and the community you build around you. The journey is one that requires courage and conviction, but the result is something that speaks to your soul and one that could be authentically yours.

In the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurship, where uncertainty is the only constant, intuition serves as a guiding star, illuminating the many possible paths forward. For women entrepreneurs, who bring a unique blend of empathy, intuition, and resilience to the table, embracing and trusting their inner wisdom is not only a source of strength but a revolutionary act of reclaiming their power. As women continue to shatter glass ceilings and redefine the face of entrepreneurship, let us remember that intuition is not merely a soft skill but a formidable force that has the potential to shape destinies and change the world.