"Trusting Your Intuition" Journaling Exercise

Many of us learned to not trust ourselves. Our internal experiences may not have been validated and our ideas and thoughts may have been dismissed or ridiculed, so we disconnected from our own intuition and wisdom. We learned to turn outside of ourselves for guidance, because we learn that it is not safe to trust ourselves.

But our intuition is still there. It is like a compass - always sending us signals about whether we are walking our path or someone else’s. It is telling us when someone violates our values and boundaries. It is telling us when we are drifting away from the truth of ourselves. 

Looking back at my life, each regret I had was a product of me overriding my intuition (gut feeling) or not following what, deep down, I knew I needed to do for myself.

If you feel that somehow you've drifted away from the truth of who you are or perhaps want to start learning how to trust yourself, try this exercise and engage in some self-reflection with these journaling prompts. As with anything new that you are incorporating, consistency will yield best results (in this case, more self-trust and ownership over your decisions).  

Exercise: 

• When you find yourself in a place of having to make a decision (start with something minor) or needing comfort or support from other people, before you reach out to anyone, see if you can distinguish what is it that you really need. Do you need an advice, a listening ear, a pep talk, support...? Whatever it may be, ask yourself, what is it that you are hoping they will say, and see if you can give/say that to yourself before you reach out. 

Journaling Prompts:

• Is there something in my life that doesn’t feel right? Why not?

• How might I be going against my true self?

• How might I be betraying my values?

• Where am I giving up things that matter to me?

• Where might I be ignoring my intuition?

• What if I listened to and followed my intuition?