Unlocking your inner wisdom: Navigating the tug-of-war between values and intuition.
Roy Disney once said that when your values are clear to you, making decisions become easier. It is true. So often we become confused and experience internal conflict when we want to do multiple things at the same time. We feel we want to do one thing, but we don’t always know why. On the other hand, we also want what’s best for those around us, so we want to make them happy too. When we know what our values are and prioritise our actions accordingly, decisions do become easier, and we become happier individuals.
“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” - Roy E. Disney
The only real valuable thing is intuition, is what Albert Einstein once said. This is true as well. Somehow our soul knows best, but do we always listen to this sixth sense of ours?
“The only real valuable thing is intuition.” - Albert Einstein
Importance of values
Values are the core principles and beliefs which guide our actions, thoughts, and behaviours such as growth, responsibility, and courage. It is the driving force why we do certain things, our compass which shows us North. Many times when we experience negative emotions, we are not living authentically, by our values.
Relying on our values offer numerous benefits which include the following:
Consistency and authenticity - your consistent behaviour creates trust between you and others as you can be uniquely you, improving your relationships in return.
Resilience and inner strength - when you experience challenging times, you can still fall back on your values which will be your anchor during challenging times.
Cultivate a sense of purpose - when we rely on our values, act out of integrity, and become fulfilled in various aspects of our lives.
Of course, there are pitfalls when we rely too much on our values such as being too rigid and inflexible, we experience value conflicts and dilemmas and limited perspectives and bias.
Importance of intuition
Intuition on the other hand is a deep knowing without rational thought and goes beyond analytical thinking and often manifests in our gut. It is a valuable resource and can provide insight and perspectives beyond human knowledge and understanding and offers us the ability to tap into our inner wisdom.
Relying on our intuition provides more than the following benefits:
Enhances creativity and innovation - intuition sparks innovative solutions and different perspectives, encouraging us to think creatively.
Navigating uncertainty - our intuition guides us through moments where we explore new territories, need to make decisions in the absence of concrete evidence and the ability to adapt to changes.
Honour your authenticity - by relying on our intuition, we become deeply connected to who we truly are, honouring our desires, values, and aspirations.
Although intuition is a powerful asset to rely on, there are a few drawbacks when we rely only on intuition such as being inaccurate and subjective, scepticism from others and ignorant towards relevant information.
Strike a balance.
What often happens when we do something for the first time, we more often than not experience butterflies, but is that a feeling of anxiety or excitement? Sometimes the body gets confused between anxiety and excitement and with new experiences I think it can be both because it’s all about stepping forward and making a change and other times there may be a misalignment between our mind, body and soul. Sometimes your head tells you to proceed, your soul says go for it, but your gut says no, or maybe both your soul and gut says yes, but your head is filled with all kinds of negative thoughts. Don’t just dismiss the idea as a bad idea, nor should you just go for it anyway, because that is how we bulldoze over our creativity. Work through it. Try to figure out which part of you objects and why that is so you can align your body, mind, and soul.
I had a few late nights lately and when I don’t get enough rest, I tend to go into standby mode and don’t think clearly. Last night I was making a vegetable-beef soup in the slow cooker my mom gave me many years ago. After I poured out the soup in different containers, I had the feeling I needed to wait before I added soap and water to the bowl, but I value being productive and decided to go against my intuition and added water to the ceramic bowl. The only thing was, I forgot to heat up the water before I opened the tap. Needless to say, the bowl cracked right through.
The lesson I learned this morning was that sometimes our values and intuition seem to act against each other. The question is, do we listen to our intuition and how do we align our body, mind, and soul to live our best life possible? Should I have listened to my intuition not to add water to the bowl immediately, didn’t mean I wouldn’t have done it at all, but just by doing something else quickly, I would have given the bowl enough time to cool down before I added the water, not resulting in any damage.
How is authentic living important?
So, what are the benefits of living in authenticity? By living authentically, we can embrace who we truly are by expressing our uniqueness as we align our actions with our core values, passions, and purpose. This brings a beautiful sense of fulfilment and stronger relationships. Authentic living greatly reduces internal conflict and suffering, while unleashing our creativity and talents. In the process, we strengthen our resilience, become grounded in our values, and rooted in what we stand for. It gives us a sense of confidence and courage as we journey through self-discovery and growth.
In conclusion
Cultivate self-awareness by becoming aware of yourself and the decisions you take by taking time to reflect on yourself, situations, and experiences so you are empowered to determine when your values may blind you to your intuition.
I hope this made a difference in your day. If you enjoyed The pitfall of overreliance on values: Tuning out our intuition, please share it to those you think may need it.
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