ARE YOU IN TUNE WITH YOUR INTUITION?

“A few days ago, my alarm went off at 5:30am like it always does, so I could get up and run,” remembers April Lovett, Co-Creator and Host of Success in Black and White, The Podcast. “I’m usually hopping out of bed and ready to get out on the road for my 30 minute run. But that particular day, my mind told me to stay in bed. I wasn’t really tired, I just had a weird feeling that I shouldn’t go. But I told myself to quit being lazy and headed out the door,” April recalls. “I had only been running for two minutes when a car approached. I could tell they didn’t see me because they were heading straight for me. I dove towards the side of the road to avoid getting ran over, but in the process my foot hit a pothole and I went down hard on the road. Luckily, the car missed me as I was laid out, but I was pretty injured with a sprained ankle, gash in my arm, and bruised ribs and hip. As I lay in the road, all I could think was that I should have listened to my intuition.”

Self-awareness is key here. “When you’re self-aware, you can make decisions based off your gut feelings and be confident in those decisions,” says Darryl Lovett, Co-Creator and Host of Success in Black and White the Podcast. If you feel like you could use practice in honing your intuition, the good news is that developing self-awareness is a developed skill. Read on for our four tips on how to further develop self-awareness.

1. Listen to what people tell you about yourself. If you’re not confident in your intuition yet, really take into consideration what people are telling you about your behaviors and mannerisms. The more you understand what you’re portraying to others, the more self-aware you’ll become.

2. Identify your triggers. “It’s important to know what makes you tick- in both good and bad ways. Know what makes you angry or sad so you can identify those triggers and start to understand the emotions that will follow,” says Darryl. “You also want to identify the things that will trigger your motivation, that will trigger your happiness and joy.”

3. Practice listening to your inner voice. “Meditation and reflection are great practices to begin getting in tune with yourself,” says April. “Practicing intentional quietness with meditation is key to listening to your body and mind. And reflection is so valuable in understanding your past behaviors, emotions, and actions.”

4. Examine your actions to understand your emotions. “If I have a day where I can’t pinpoint how I’m feeling, I turn to my social media posts,” says April. “If you examine how you genuinely interact with people, whether online or in-person, you’ll begin to get in tune with how you are feeling.”

Want more of this conversation? Tune in to the episode of the podcast below to hear Darryl & April’s conversation on “Are You In Tune With Your Intuition”

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