Have you ever wondered how much you should rely on intuition in decision making?

Intuition is actually an amazing tool to make good decisions and to tap into your true desires.

This post is a guide – a collection of steps – to help you to make a good life decision based on your intuition. I follow this process in my own decision making and it has yielded some good results. It’s also loosely based on the process I use in intuitive readings with clients to help them get clear on which path they really want to take.

So – the first step for making a sound intuitive decision actually starts not with your intuition, but with your brain, so to begin with:

Put all your options down on paper

You can’t really receive information about your potential options and decisions unless you clarify them. So, what are your options?

For example, if you are wanting to quit your job but you don’t know which step to take to make it happen, put down on paper all the options that you can think of which are available to you RIGHT NOW. Even if they sound a bit out of your reach. Your list could look like this:

#1: Continue doing the same job but at a different company.

#2: Train in another field that appeals to you.

#3: Do the same work freelance.

#4: Go on a working holiday abroad.

I was taught in my intuitive training that there are always five different paths ahead of you. I don’t know if this is 100% true in all circumstances, but I will say that if you’re only seeing one or two options ahead of you, you might need to expand your vision and your horizons a little bit. There is usually more than one path, so do a brainstorming session and see what comes up as possible choices to make in the decision making process.

As an intuitive, I ALWAYS work out what options are available to me and to my clients. Even if clients don’t know what those options are, I do some research into their possible paths and sometimes bring up options they hadn’t even considered. So think of this part as a brainstorming process that helps you to get clear on what action you can take.

Once you’ve made a list of options, write down a list of what you like and what you don’t like about each option. Be really honest and don’t kid yourself that there will be only one perfect option without any drawbacks. There is rarely a 100% perfect option. Depending on the size of the decision, it can be a long list or a short one.

Once you’ve written down the pros and cons of each possible path, the next step is…

Identify your desired outcome

Take a moment to consider what overall outcome you want to bring about as a result of your decision? Remember – there is an energy behind everything that you want to bring into your life. Look at the bigger picture – why are you making this decision? What do you really want and what is the ideal outcome? Do you want a more peaceful home life? More work fulfilment? More excitement in your life?

Make sure you acknowledge and set that intention for your decision making…and aim to make a decision that supports that overall intention for your life. The next step is to measure how aligned each option is with your ideal outcome. One way of doing this is to…

Listen to your feelings

Listening to your feelings allows you to do a little research on the options. And I don’t mean research on the internet or using books. You don’t really need to consult with sources outside of you to make a decision. As an emotional being, you already have some the data you need to make a decision. Your feelings will provide some of that data. Feelings really are excellent feedback about how aligned each path is with that outcome or result that you identified in step number two.

If you feel really bad about an option, but it looks good on paper (and everyone thinks you should do it), trust your emotions over your rationale.

I’ve seen the following scenario time and again in my readings: a client will request a reading because they have an important decision to make but tell me that they can’t work out how they feel about each option. In the reading, all I’ll do when I tune into the client is notice how they respond, energetically to each option. They ask me about the option and as an empath I can feel how it feels to them, energetically and emotionally and report back to them.

Then I use my pendulum to measure (in a percentage) how aligned each option is with their desired outcome – meaning, will their plan create the outcome they desire? Their feelings and my pendulum give the same information here. If the client feels lukewarm about their plan, the pendulum will tell me that it’s maybe 30 or 40% aligned with the client’s highest path and purpose. If they feel excited and enthusiastic about a plan, maybe it’s 90 or 100% aligned with their desired outcome.

But really, such clients don’t need me to tell them how they feel. They already know. But in such circumstances, consulting an intuitive can help because the issue is that the client is not listening to or heeding how they feel about the options. So, having me tell them how they feel about each option, and explain why they feel that way helps the client to see that their feelings are excellent feedback about the choices in front of them.

Be your own intuitive

You can actually replicate this process of energetic assessment that I do in an intuitive reading at home.

The best way to do this is to try each option on for size, energetically. Do this by listening to what your emotions have to say about each potential path, one by one.

Put aside two minutes of your time and close your eyes. Imagine that you’ve already made that decision to start the relationship, get a different job, say yes to the business venture or whatever it is. Imagine yourself on your first day at work in that new job. How do you feel about the prospect?

Open your mind for this exercise. Let go of your preconceived ideas about what you “have” to do and just let go of practical considerations of why you can’t do what you want to do.

• What is the energy or emotion that you feel behind the path?
• Does it feel flat? Do you feel uninspired? Heavy? Unmotivated?
• Or do you feel excited? Perhaps a little apprehensive? Enthusiastic? Confused?
• Do you feel awful? Do you feel a sense of dread?
• Do you feel any of these feelings in your body?

Write down any feelings or emotions that come up, even if they’re conflicting, because they are all valid feedback about something.

You could feel excited and terrified about one option at the same time, and it could be that the possible path is exciting but might take a lot of skill that you don’t have yet. All feelings are important feedback about each option so don’t ignore anything you feel about each option.

I know that this sounds like a lengthy process, but it’s the most thorough and effective way I have of making good intuitive decisions. You can also make a snap decision based on your intuition too and do so, if your gut tells you to. I occasionally do that if I’m feeling impulsive but the results can be mixed with such a hit and miss approach. If like me, you like to spend longer working it out, take as long as you need with this process. Depending on how big the decision is, you may need to consider each option for half a minute, half an hour or half a day to get some good, steady feedback about how you really feel about it.

Sometimes there is a perfect decision and sometimes there isn’t – sometimes you just have to take the best path that you can see in front of you so don’t pressurize yourself to find a perfect solution yet. Let your mind take a back seat in this process. That brings me to my next point in this process:

Don’t talk yourself out of what you want

Often through observing feelings, people get clear on what they want. They understand that some options make them feel good and others make them feel flat and some make them feel awful and they can link some of those feelings to real considerations in their pros and cons list.

But once you’ve hit upon the right course of action to take, it’s easy to talk yourself out of it and hide behind what’s practical. A common reaction to the really good-feeling and “perfect” option is that it’s too scary and difficult or has negative consequences, or involves a risk, or is too hard for you to achieve.

There are many fears and excuses that we can hide behind. If you’re not ready to come out from behind those excuses yet, that’s OK, but at least admit what you want, even if you’re not sure you can have it yet. Make sure that the decision you do make honours your desires to SOME degree, even if it doesn’t honour it 100%. In other words, make sure your decision sends you in the right direction towards what you want, even if it’s not a taking you all the way there in one go.

And about that fear – often the option that is in our highest path and purpose is one that does bring us a great deal of growth and expansion. It pushes us out of our comfort zone and makes us face our fears. It can be uncomfortable. So if an option makes you feel fear, apprehension or even complete terror, it doesn’t mean that it’s an option that’s not right for you. You need to look at those feelings in context.

Take the plunge

If it’s a smaller decision that will have no real fallout for you or for others, then try it on for size – literally. Do it and then see how it feels. If it’s the wrong option for you, you’ll probably be alerted to it as you take action. Taking action that helps you in the elimination process is better than taking no action at all!

Got any other tips or thoughts on intuitive decision making? Please share in the comments section!