“There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis.” –Malcolm Gladwell
Developing and learning to follow your intuition has many practical applications in daily life.
It’s been well publicized that some of the world’s most renowned creative geniuses use their intuition when making decisions. Names like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates spring to mind immediately.
Learning to tap into your inner wisdom can save you from making a wrong business decision, picking the wrong business partner, save you money and time and so much more.
You are already checking in with your gut and following your hunches for all kinds of practical uses but, just don’t realize it. Check out this list of common ways your intuition assists you in making decisions and choices and supplies you with information in your daily life.
You’ve probably been relying on gut feelings more than you know to…..
1. To see which of two nurseries has the type of tomato plants you’re looking for so you don’t waste the time and gasoline driving to the wrong one.
2. To get a feel for which summer camp your child would enjoy most and not be struck by a severe case of home sickness. There is something about the counselors at the one camp you feel would make your son feel more secure.
3. You have a hunch that your sister and her boyfriend will show up at your summer home this weekend and so you buy two extra steaks while they are on sale. And, they do show up.
4. Know whether going in on a shore house with that couple a good idea or it will ruin your friendship?
5. Throw a pair of sneakers in the trunk so you can change out of your sandals. You have a suspicion it’s going to rain even though there is no rain in the forecast.
6. Which tree service will the best job and not add on extra charges for cutting a few extra limbs while on the job.
7. The next two weeks are going to be crazy as your son is getting married. Your gut says that the leak under the sink is not serious enough for a plumber so taping it up with plumber’s tape is going to be fine for now. After the wedding you have the plumber out and he says had you waited any longer to call him you would have had a flood in your kitchen.
8. You refuse to open the door to the unannounced visitor from the gas company and later find out that it was a scam to rob people’s homes.
9. You always seem to “know” where to find for lost items in the house.
10. Seeing an expensive patio set at Lowe’s prompts you to call an old friend who had a similar set. When you tell the friend what prompted you to call the friend gifts you their patio set because they just bought a new one!
11. Suddenly think to ask the dealership to check the spare tire during a routine oil change just prior to your family’s annual vacation by car. Thank goodness you did because it turned out the spare was defective.
12. You insist that your husband move the grill from the wood deck to the flagstone patio because you feel uneasy about it being there. He tries to tell you there’s no reason to move it and that millions of people grill on their decks. You wonder if you’re being paranoid? The next time he is grilling the entire grill falls off the stand.
1 3. Something tells you to go to the local hardware store in your town even though it’s more expensive than to Home Depot out on the highway. Later you hear on the evening news that there was a water main break that flooded that stretch of highway.
14. You go with a friend to see a condo she wants to bid on and meet the next door neighbor in the parking lot – who creeps you out totally. She buys the apartment and it turns out the police are called regularly to break up domestic violence between he and his wife.
15. A friend tells you about a new department opening up at his company that you would be perfect for and sends your resume to his director. You immediately know that you’re going to be offered this job so you stop sending out resumes. Two months later you are offered the job and take it.
16. A colleague in a similar business is discussing developing a product or service that is similar to one you’ve been working on. A little voice in your head says it would be good idea to join forces. You bring it up and it turns out to be very successful.
17. Tell your nephew to consider it a a lucky break that he was let go from his job as something is “fishy” is going on there. The next month there is an article in the paper and the company is under investigation from the FBI.
18. You sense something is wrong in a friend’s marriage and have a strange foreboding even though your friend has said nothing to you. Two years later they are separated and getting divorced.
20. You are taking a walk and see one of your friend’s ex-husband’s contracting trucks drive by. This reminds you that he has been ill and you wonder how he is doing? The next day you read his obituary in the paper.
21. You are walking around past the window in your apartment in your nightgown when you suddenly get the feeling you are being watched. You look up and there is your neighbor from across the courtyard watching you!
22. You have a dream that you are at your doctor’s and she says you need to have a tumor removed. Three months later you find out that you have a nodule on your thyroid and schedule surgery to have it removed.
23. You are stopping at the grocery store after work and for some inexplicable reason pick up brownie mix even though you wife didn’t have that on the list. When you get home your daughter says that she had been in the mood to make brownies.
24. You attend a seminar and see a person from across the room and smile at them. You know at that very moment that you are going to like this person and become friends and you do.
25. You’ve become interested in a new hobby. While out for lunch you are drawn to stop in at a new gift shop that opened up. You meet the owner and she tells you that she teaches this hobby and will offering classes in her shop soon.
Intuition is so subtle that many times we don’t even realize it is working for us. I hope this list gives you a better idea of how you are already using intuition in your life.
Can you see how some of these examples may be similar to things you’ve experienced in your life? What experiences have you had with your intuition? Share with us or ask a question.
If you learned from this article please share it with friends on Twitter, FB & G+ so they benefit too!
Want to learn more about how intuition works? Pick up any of my books here.‘
P.S. The 3rd week of the book tour for, “The Intuition Principle” starts today. Check out these fabulous articles by these great bloggers:
Day 15: http://suziecheel.com/the-intuition-principle-interview-with-angela-artemis/
Day 16: http://10stepstofindingyourhappyplace.blogspot.com/2012/05/fabulousity-factor.html
Day 17: http://www.celebrate-success-2012.com/the-intuition-principle-an-interview-with-angela-artemis/
Related articles
- Intuition: Examples of How to Recognize It (poweredbyintuition.com)
- Intuition: Where Do “Signs” Come From? (poweredbyintuition.com)
- 25 Great Intuition Quotes (poweredbyintuition.com)
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Great examples here, indeed. It’s just that funny feeling sometimes…or that right on feeling!
Yes even those who are considered “logical” or “scientific” greats have absolutely used their intuition. I’d through the late great Albert Einstein in their too. I used to think intuition something magical and other-worldly (not to mention something that women have but men don’t) when it’s very practical, real and in a sense, logical, in the fact that it makes sense. It’s a way of picking up and processing information that goes beyond the thinking, analyzing mind, and into a deeper mode of processing that information through our entire “being” or biology.
David,
I’m thrilled that you see the value in the intuitive thinking process.
You definitely get it.
It’s nothing that is “woo-woo” or “airy-fairy.”
It is a process of the mind – exactly!
Thank you so much for sharing your comment here.
Hi Angela, this definitely resonates with me, as I’ve been getting back into my yoga practice recently and noticing how much more connected I am with my intuition when my attention is focused on what I’m feeling in my body, in terms of knowing what I want as opposed to going along with what I think I’m supposed to want.
Hi Chris,
I’m glad this article resonates with you.
Intuition is so much a part of our lives but, we don’t realize it.
Going along with what feels right vs. what you think you “should” do is the difference, for sure!
I have a couple examples used in business. When dealing with people, intuition is a belief or feeling that we have that tells us to do something. For example, I was in a meeting and we were talking about the big new customer, when my intuition told me to ask the question about the thing that nobody was talking about. I don’t know why or if my question was really important, but I felt it should be asked
Gracie,
That’s a great example! Sometimes we are prompted to say things that turn out to be so insightful.
I was happily posting the link to this post on my FB page when I froze. I took a closer look at the image that you had published along with it. Just an hour ago, I was thinking of buying a similar image by the same photographer/illustrator. I had not seen your post yet at that time. He has a series of them with the same “head” but with different images for the vibrations. I like them very much!
I don’t know if it is intuition or what. But it amazed me to think that we could be tuning in to the same wavelength. There are tons and tons of images out there on the web but we are selecting the same one. Or maybe we have the same taste?
With laughter,
Evelyn
Hi Evelyn,
Well, they say great minds think alike! I believe we are on the same wavelength.
xoxo,
Angela
Angela,
The quality of your posts never cease to amaze me. I have a gut feeling the college loan for my granddaughter is all in Divine Order. No doubt in my mind! Loved the interview with Suzi
I love the list of incidents of intuition at work. My experiences are very similar, but my favorites are when there’s a happy ending.
Years ago I had a dream of someone I knew. He was driving, and his granddaughter and I were passengers. It was a mountain road similar to where I live, and the truck we were in kept getting out of balance and tipping, like it was going to go over the edge.
I knew he was coming to visit in a few days and stressed to him to make sure to check his truck out thoroughly. Turns out that during the inspection, he found a dangerously loose bolt to the camper top of his pickup truck. He made sure it was secure before the trip. If that camper top had come loose while he driving on those mountainous curves, there’s no way he would have been able to keep the vehicle under control. (I think the granddaughter was in the dream because the two of them were extremely close and I knew how badly it would affect her if something happened to him.)
I dreamed of a friend being pregnant a few months before she became pregnant … even though the doc had told her it would be very unlikely to happen. 🙂
Thanks for posting this, Angela. It’s always fun to compare notes!
I love your real life examples, Angela. It brings it all down to earth… who can’t relate to at least one of those feelings? We all can awaken that creative genius within that you cite in the likes of Steve Jobs etc. when we know the feeling we are looking for. The creative geniuses are just so because they have realized (either consciously or unconsciously) that there are no limitations placed on their lives except those intimidations they’ve imposed upon their intuition.
Hi Rob,
Yes, I love bringing these concepts down to earth so everyone can relate to how practical and useful their intuition is in everyday life.
The creative geniuses are renowned for doing the big things that get all the press but, what about the person who returns home for some inexplicable reason and finds that the coffee pot is on, smouldering and just about to turn into a full-fledged fire. That’s also genius too, right?
This is such an excellent idea, Angela. I often encourage people to notice how common and useful their intuition is, but here you’ve taken the time to list a lot of great examples of that exact type of everyday intuition. So helpful!
Hi Patti,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
It is so much more practical than people give it credit for. We truly couldn’t live without it. It is a cognitive process.
Unfortunately, by going around calling ourselves “intuitive” instead of psychic we’ve confused people into thinking that being intuitive has something to do with predicting the future.
You are so right Angela! So many ways and times we use our intuition. I know that I use my intuition when I drive. I will sometimes go a different way for no appearant reason. Then I will think, “Maybe I just kept myself from an accident.” I will be much more aware in the future.
Great list and post Angela! Love the quote up at the top, too.
Hi Betsy,
I’m so glad you saw how we all use intuition in our daily lives. The truth is we don’t even think about it!~
It’s really practical too!
I’m sure we don’t check up on 99 percent of the things we suddenly feel compelled to do differently than the way we started out but, I’m sure if we could check we weould see that we probably did “avoid and accident” or something serious.
Intuition has served me a lot in my life, and has proven correct all the times. The only times it got wrong was when I had doubts, when I didn’t believe it, as I become confused by what is the initial intuition and what is my mind telling me. Great post. Thank you
Hi Nikky,
I’m so glad you found this post helpful. You sound like you are very intuitive, indeed!
As soon as the rational mind comes in and starts “talking at you” and you doubt yourself you’re doomed to make a mistake.
That’s why it’s best to try to trust and go with it. Thinking it over too much will definitely kill your intuition Nikky.
i love it! fun list. makes me think of examples of my own.. Though I tend to doubt if its really my intuition talking or something else.. something about the school my ex taught at always gave me the wrong vibe. Now I always thought it was me being ‘crazy’ and ultra jealous in the relationship..It was one of those alternative boarding schools and eventually they got shut down for sexual and emotional abuse (not necessarily by him, but their ‘therapy’ techniques.)
I’ve also intuitively ‘known’ when I would win/receive things. Like just knowing I would win a door prize, scholarship, or a contest etc. When I actually do win though, I always wonder if it was just my hopeful/wishful thinking that turned out true THIS time. But they are accompanied with feeling that I just ‘knew’ it’d happen.. But it’s easy to doubt that!
That’s all I got. Not as impressive as Vidya 🙂
Hi Janet,
I think your intuition is spot on!
Getting that creepy feeling about the school where your ex taught was a really good example.
You are very intuitive. In the case of winning things. I’ve had that “knowing” feeling as well.
You should trust your intuition more!
What a powerful tool Intuition is! Life saving, happiness bringer!. Just two days ago, we wanted to order food from a particular place which is very popular. At 12.30 pm, I changed my mind, much to the disgust of my fellas and whipped up a quick meal. I just didn’t feel okay about ordering the food. The next day a friend phoned to say there was food poisoning at that restaurant and everyone who ate there the previous day was sick. Worse still, one of these people was someone I know, who was visiting from the US. She was totally washed out, poor thing. Phew!
Last week, I dreamed a friend’s daughter-in-law was pregnant and phoned her to tell her the next morning. I told her she was wearing a blue saree when she received the news from her son. She didn’t believe me. Two days later, while skyping with her son, he told her the news – saying they found out two days ago. And when my friend received the news, guess what color saree she was wearing!
Enough said. I could go on and on. Best thing is, one of my friends actually calls me whenever she is planning something important, to ask if she should go ahead with it.
😀 Love you, Angela. Hugs!
Vidya,
OMG – you are so intuitive! I’m elated to know that you suddenly didn’t feel like getting take out from that restaurant.
Talk about being a life saver!
And the blue saree too?
It’s no wonder your friends call you to see if they should go ahead with their plans!
xoxo,
Angela