This simple approach to intuition can change your experience from surviving to thriving in any area of your life by having your thinking serving your intuition, rather than dismissing it.
In line with that, I like this quote attributed to Albert Einstein: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
Here are the 3 basic things that your intuition tells you:
- When to let go of a train of thought
- When to open up to new ideas
- When to take action on an idea
In 10,000 Year Thinking® those three things occur in sequence, in a repeating cycle called an experience (inspired ideas; organized action; letting go of a train of thought). You shift from one phase to the next when your intuition tells you to do so.
Here are examples of each kind of intuitive shift:
1) Let go of a train of thought: Imagine that you wanted to go out to dinner with a friend. You then made a plan to do that. Think of this as having created a train of thought where certain next steps logically fit the pattern and others don’t. So, for example, picking a restaurant will fit in with the train of thought, and playing a video game won’t.
Letting go of a train of thought is letting go of new ideas that are logical extensions of that train of thought. Try to notice, for example, when your intuition is telling you to let go of an argument, while the train of thought in the argument is telling you to keep trying to make your point. Trust your intuition and make the shift into the next phase of the cycle which is open up to new ideas not related to the old train of thought.
2) Open up to new ideas: Having listened to your intuition and let go of a particular train of thought, you are now open to new ideas that just pop into your head—they are inspired ideas (some big and some small) and you will want to simply note them without judging whether they are good ideas or not. These new ideas will suggest what resonates with you.
In some cases, you might have a bunch of new ideas and in others, one idea will come that captures your attention. Look to your intuition to tell you when it’s time to shift into action on one of your new ideas. When that happens, make the intuitive shift into the next phase of the cycle of experience, which is to take action.
3) Take action on an idea: Sometimes the new intuitive idea that you came up with can feel somewhat or very challenging. Since your intuition is telling you to engage in the idea that resonates with you, your natural response will be to do so. If you are feeling resistance, take action in very small ways in order to make it easier to engage.
To summarize:
Allow yourself to be aware of when your intuition is telling you to: 1) let go of a train of thought; 2) open up to new ideas; or 3) shift into action on an idea.
I have worked with many entrepreneurs and as a result I often see the challenge a person faces when they feel inspired to start a new business. The challenge is whether they should allow their intuition to guide them to shift into action on their idea, or whether they should they allow an old train of thought to provide reasons why they shouldn’t do it.
That same challenge occurs in relationships, family, personal interests, work issues—really every area of life. In 10,000 Year Thinking® intuition, not an old train of thought tells you three fundamental things: when to let go of an old train of thought; when to open up to new ideas; and when to take a new idea into action.
Allowing intuitive guidance in those three fundamental phases of an experience keeps you from getting stuck—it naturally has you engaged in fresh and stimulating experiences and generally satisfied!