6 Ways to Listen to Your Intuition

The subject of intuition and “listening to your gut” is so fascinating to me. Over the last few years, I’ve really leaned into learning about and cultivating my intuition; with the goal to live with my intuition (and values) as my compass. It’s guided me in making many big decisions in my life over the last few years, and I have to say, it’s been pretty spot on.

Whether it’s your personal life, relationships, business, or little things like listening to your body or eating intuitively, intuition can offer powerful insights.

What Is Intuition?

Explaining intuition can be difficult because it’s largely a feeling and a knowing. I know, I sound so woo-woo right now. But it’s like trying to describe the color green — it’s not easy to do! But simply put, intuition is an innate inclination or drive toward a particular action or behavior (as opposed to thinking or analyzing). It’s a feeling or a sense that you have, and in many cases, a gut feeling based on your unique past experiences.

This isn’t to say that you should throw logic or conscious reasoning out the window. Our analytical brain is super important, too. Instead, it’s all about finding a balance and partnering many of our cognitive resources with our analytical resources depending on the situation. Intuition can provide us with valuable insights into what may be best for us, in ways that logic sometimes cannot. Sometimes it logically makes sense to do something, but still just doesn’t feel right. Have you ever experienced that before?

Whether you want to call it intuition, listening to your gut, having a hunch, or your inner wisdom, we all have the ability to tap into it and I’ve found that my life has improved now that I’m more receptive to listening to my inner knowing.

Here are 6 strategies to better listen to & sharpen intuition that work for me personally plus some questions you can ask yourself.

Six Strategies for Listening to Your Intuition

1. Clear the Noise

You have to get quiet. Clearing the clutter of mental or external noise is one of the best ways to tap into our intuition easier. Spending time in solitude or in meditation can be profound in helping us better pick up on our inner guidance.

When we’re constantly being bombarded by others–what we see/hear, others’ opinions or what others “might” think, the “shoulds” that we feel pressured to do, or the general hectic nature of our daily lives, it makes it harder for us to pay attention to what truly feels best for us. By getting quiet and spending time alone we can better tune into our needs and intuition, free of distraction. I’ve had to force myself not to listen to music when I clean, not to pop on a podcast when I’m driving, and not turn on my audio book when I walk some days just so I can LISTEN to my own thoughts.

2. Initial Gut Reaction

Practice paying attention to your initial split-second gut reaction when being faced with a set of decisions.

To practice this now, take a moment to think about a decision you’re trying to make. Remove all thoughts or preconceived notions about them, and just focus on the feelings when you weigh your options. You can try flipping a coin to see what that split-second moment feels like. Ask yourself: What am I really hoping for with this coin toss? That’s your intuition.

Generally, when something feels right, there’s a pull toward it, an openness, lightness, or sense of excitement. When something doesn’t feel right, you may feel a sense of contraction, resistance, dread, or pulling back. You can ask yourself: which choice feels relieving, liberating, calming, or exciting? Which one feels heavy or uncomfortable? Your initial reaction can give you lots of insight into what might be best for you. I tend to feel more calm about the decisions that my intuition is guiding me towards–that’s just me though!

Tuning into these feelings will help you familiarize yourself with your “gut feelings” or intuition.

3. Physical Sensations

Your brain and your body are intricately (and beautifully) connected. When we feel a certain way mentally or emotionally, our physical body tends to respond accordingly thanks to the connections in our nervous system.

For example, if something feels wrong, you may hunch your shoulders, close off your body, feel a sense of heaviness in your chest/feel queasy, or you may subconsciously clench your jaw. Likewise, if something feels good, you may be smiling while talking about it or feel a sense of lightness and openness in your body, even if there’s a bit of nervousness about it.

This is where some people get confused by fear vs. intuition. To help distinguish between the two, I tend to think about it this way: how do I feel AFTER the decision is all said and done, either immediately, after a few weeks, or even months later? Do I have a sense of relief, pride, joy, or confidence in my decision? Or does it make me feel sad, regretful, guilty, or disappointed?

Fear can typically be overcome. We can push through fears, do hard things, learn new skills, and improve confidence. But intuition typically lingers by giving us a nagging feeling that something isn’t right, even after we’ve made a decision.

4. Explore Your Options

Take a moment to think about a decision you’ve tried to make and that you kept coming back to again and again. Perhaps it felt unresolved, you kept second-guessing yourself or a nagging feeling never subsided. In my experience, my intuition is calling when something keeps coming back to my mind and an issue keeps repeating itself. It can sometimes mean we need to explore what it is that we keep questioning, in order to put it to rest. It’s also highlighting a time where potentially you didn’t listen to your intuition–and something to keep in mind for your decision making in the future.

5. Recall Past Experiences

Recalling past experiences where you had a hunch about something can help you notice that feeling in the future. Try and remember what that “hunch” feeling felt like, especially in a past experience where you were correct about it. I can remember a time where I had met someone at work and I just had a “vibe” that something wasn’t right about her. Everyone else at my job really liked her and tried to tell me how fun she was, how funny she was, how cool she was, and that I just must be not getting her mean spirited “jokes.” In truth, she was a bully. And she was mean. And my gut feeling about her was right. My intuition told me something that it would take others months figure out on their own.

6. Write It Out

Sometimes we do need to call in our conscious, analytical mind to pave the way for our intuition to shine through. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself if you’re trying to make a decision or weighing a few options in your life right now. Grab a journal and write these out (I swear handwriting them out is way better than jotting them in your notes app):

What is the ultimate outcome I want? What is most important when it comes to this area of my life?
What are the pros, cons, and worst case scenarios for each option?
Are my fears (worst case scenarios) realistic or imaginary (THIS QUESTION IS KEY)? Often we are afraid of outcomes that aren’t even likely, let alone realistic. This can drown out your intuition. Ask yourself if your fears are deep-seated insecurities, your anxiety, or your over-active imagination disguised as convincing truths.

Put It Into Practice

Listening to your intuition takes time and practice and just like learning to make the perfect lasagna (a 2025 goal for me) it’s a skill you can develop.

If you’re new to listening to your intuition, try “practicing” it in situations that don’t matter quite as much, like very small decisions (like what to order off a menu, or which type workout you will do that day or what movie to go see that weekend). You can also try it in conversations with others by gently picking up on the way someone feels behind the words they are saying.

Do you listen to your intuition? How has it been helpful in your life? Share with me below!