Intuition vs. Logic: How to Retrain Your Brain to Trust Your Gut

Your brain is easily conditioned.

Think about the last time you talked yourself out of something that felt right. It was probably so easy to do you didn’t even notice yourself doing it. Because that's how most of us learned to make choices: not what feels right, but what makes sense. Intuition vs. Logic.

If you’re having a hard time recalling a situation, try to remember the last time something didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. How did that scenario play out? At what point were you forced to make a choice and how did you choose?

While your mind naturally uses intuition to make choices, your brain uses the mechanisms it’s learned: that flimsy combination of logic, outcomes from past experiences, influence from loved ones, concern for how that choice will make you appear to others, etc.

When choices are leading to negative outcomes consistently in your life it is because you’re consistently making decisions from the wrong place. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool myself into thinking I can keep doing things the same way and expect a different outcome? Well, that just seems silly now doesn’t it?

You use this skewed logic to convince yourself something is the right choice even though that nagging feeling of uncertainty looms in the back of your mind. That looming doubt shouldn’t exist, and it doesn’t when you’re making the right choice for yourself. The choice that your intuition is guiding you toward.

It has become normal for people to favor their brain over their mind in decision-making. I do it myself. Every single day. When you let logic guide your choices for years and years it becomes second-nature. You learn to ignore your intuition systematically over time. But here’s why you don’t need to worry…

It takes work to get off your perfect frequency-- like paddling upstream against the flow of your life that’s leading you where you’re meant to be.

When you stop fighting the current and go with the flow (cough cough,* let your intuition guide you,) life becomes easier.. peaceful even.

You don’t really have choices to make ​because there is no more weighing pros and cons, no more discussing possible outcomes with others. There is one right choice for your perfect life and once you start trusting your intuition these decisions will become instantaneous. Your mind will know what is right for you before you have to put any thought into it at all.

It really is that simple.

Everyone has had an intense gut feeling at a crossroads in their life, but not everyone has connected that feeling to the positive or negative outcomes that came from listening to it or ignoring it. I promise that once you do, you will realize that your intuition is much, much wiser than your logical brain.

Start small. Next time you’re looking for a parking space don’t think too hard about what street is likely to have more spots. Let go and just drive whatever direction feels right. (Insider tip: Intuition always works better when you’re singing along to a favorite song or thinking about something you love). Just make sure you notice when everything starts flowing seamlessly and make sure you thank your intuition for guiding you the right way. Because I promise it always will. All you have to do is notice, and appreciate when it happens. Be present enough and aware enough in your life to rewire your decision-making habits.

That being said, your intuition doesn’t have a loudspeaker. You have to quiet your mind enough to be able to hear it. Learn to hear it so you can learn to trust it. Just like you would anything else in your life.

Hearing your intuition means taking quiet time (through meditation/yoga/insomnia- pick your antidote) to let your mind wander, and to connect your gut feelings– those positive or negative emotions that spring up– to the thoughts that enter your mind. Or it might be noticing the small coincidences that begin to occur when you’ve been following your intuition and your life is gliding in perfect synchronistic rhythm with the world around you. In those moments, reflect on the choices you’ve been making and how you’ve been making them. That is how you’re meant to choose and that is how you are meant to live.