How to access intuition in decision making

Extraordinary leaders take important decisions from intuition.

How do you make important decisions - by your rational mind or intuition? 

At school, we develop rational thinking and in business, we are used to using the analytical part of our brain. It is great for decisions where we can bring facts, logic, and numbers.

The problem is, we cannot use our analytical brains for important decisions in business and life.

And in leadership, many decisions are complex, involving people, emotions etc, so they are important.  

Examples of decisions that require intuition:

•  major life decisions (career, relationships)
•  vision and business direction
•  breakthrough ‘thinking’ to step out of our comfort zone
• decisions that involve people and emotions.

Intuitive decisions are experienced as ‘aha’, enlightenment, and lead to a breakthrough. They are bold.

They do not come from thinking hard or overthinking. Instead, they follow a more subtle process and voice and connect with what is most important.

Intuitive decisions do not mean just feeling the gut - some do include gathering facts beforehand. But the process of decision ultimately differs.

Rational follow a more structured, analytical approach with facts and data - which is appropriate for some decisions.

Intuitive decisions happen by following a silent voice within that we need to access.

Looking back on my own life and career, I can see the importance of intuition in some of my key decisions.

For example, I left the corporate world to start my own business, decided to have a second child during a period of career growth, made the tough decision to stand up for my values in a risky conversation, or chose to say no to some clients.

Looking back, which decisions you took by intuition?

I witness many intuitive decisions with my clients guiding them through a process that assesses their intuition and wisdom. It always brings breakthroughs.

Have you tried to embrace complex decisions with a rational mind?

I did, several times, not knowing how to access my intuition which left me overthinking, compromising on what I really wanted, and feeling stuck.

Accessing our intuition can be challenging, especially in a world that values logic and analysis above all else.

Accessing intuition is accessing a different part of our brain - in the right side of our brain.

It took me efforts to seek to discover the process I can lean on now through various personal and coaching developments.

So, here are my key discoveries to access intuitive, non-rational thinking needed for important decisions:

1.      Cultivate a habit of quieting our rational minds. By learning to quiet our inner critic and self-doubt, we can create space for our intuition to emerge. It also helps us to distinguish the voice of your sabotaging mind and the intuitive voice

2.      Use visualization and creative processes to access our inner wisdom.

3.      Be patient and open to receive – our intuition does not always give us answers immediately, we need to build patience and be observant.

4.      Take action on that quiet voice, even if they excite and scare you

5.      Trust the process, which in the beginning is the most challenging so build it with smaller decisions.

By cultivating our intuition and learning to trust it, we can make better choices, navigate complex challenges, and ultimately thrive in times of change.

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