How to Trust Yourself and Your Intuition

It's there for a reason: learn how to harness the tremendous power of your intuition. Everyone has some degree of intuitive faculty, a "gut instinct" we feel whenever a situation is innately good or bad for us.

The gut instinct is an evolutionary trait; in prehistoric times, we needed to assess situations for possible dangers and rewards within a matter of seconds. The subconscious mind works faster, and often under-the-radar, remaining "quiet" until it spots something that is either an opportunity or a hazard to us.

We have all felt a negative gut instinct when walking alone down an alley late at night. "Get out of here, get a cab," our inner voice says. At the same time, during a promising job interview or date, your inner voice might tell you, "Be yourself. Be confident, he/she likes you so far!"

With training, your subconscious gut instinct can go from a sporadic visitor to a trusted friend and advisor. The first step to building your intuition is to actually do what it tells you. If, for some reason, you feel compelled to introduce yourself to someone you have never seen before at a party or work function, just do it! Don't calculate too much or worry about the risks of being "rejected".

By the same token, if your gut instinct tells you to skip a certain party or event, go ahead and skip it. (Obviously, if it is something important that cannot be avoided, do not necessarily do this.)

If you start to act on your instinct, you will begin to see results. Investments will pay off; you will find new friends and contacts who can help you; you will find the new roommate/apartment/job/whatever else just as you need it.

Once your trust in your gut instinct is significant enough, you will be "tuned" to any opportunities that come your way -- instead of deliberating or delaying before taking action, you will take the right step almost immediately. Good luck!

Important tip: Do not confuse the astonishing power of your intuition with the petty, fear-based inner voice of self-doubt. Your self-doubt will frequently tell you not to do something out of fear. Luckily, you can tell the difference between intuition and plain old-fashioned fear because a decision based on intuitive gut instinct will never make you feel fearful.