43
MAKE IT A DAILY PRACTICE TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR NIGGLING THOUGHTS AND SUSPICIONS .
9 . TRUTHFULLY ANSWER THE QUESTION , “ HOW ARE YOU ?” On being asked , take a second to check in with yourself and give a real answer . Caution : this might lead to a real conversation .
10 . OBEY THE “ HOW DUMB WOULD I FEEL ?” RULE .
This rule kicks in when I pull into a parking space with my tote holding my computer on the front seat and think , “ Oh , I don ’ t have to put that in the trunk ; I ’ m sure it will be fine .” Then I think , “ Yup , I ’ m sure it will be fine , but how dumb would I feel if I came back out here and it was gone ?” I would feel pretty darn dumb , especially since I had just had this conversation with myself . Make it a daily practice to pay attention to your niggling thoughts and suspicions .
LITTLE CHANGES ACTION STEP :
Choose one intuition cultivator from the list above and do it today .
THE INTUITION KILLERS
Just as you can develop your inner wisdom , there are also some easy ways to suppress it . Here are six killers of intuition :
1 . The need to be right . The need to be smart , documented , and logical in all of your decisions will cause you to ignore the whispers of your soul and do foolish things , like marrying someone who “ looks good on paper ” or taking a job just for the money .
2 . The safety of “ I don ’ t know .” Sometimes when you say , “ I don ’ t know ,” it ’ s because actually you do know , and you just don ’ t like it . Other times you allow yourself to stay confuddled so that you don ’ t have to commit to a decision . If this is a habit of yours , try using the life coach ’ s trick of saying , “ If I did know the answer , it might be ...”
3 . Fatigue and dehydration . As we ’ ve discussed , physical depletion often leads directly to poor brain function and unreliable interpretations of the signals your inner wisdom is trying to send you .
WISDOM & SELF-GROWTH
43