How can we improve our intuition? 6 strategies

"Intuition: Act of the mind by which we see immediately, with clarity and distinction, the truth of a proposition." (R. Descartes)

The word "intuition" comes from the Latin "intueri", which roughly translates as "Look within" or "contemplate." It is commonly called sixth sense or hunchA very brief way to define what intuition is is to say that it is the fact of knowing something without knowing how we know it. It is the perception or instantaneous knowledge of a truth or idea without reasoning being involved.

Burke and Miller argue that "intuition results from a subconscious mental process, which is based on the previous history of the individual."

The right side of the brain is associated with intuition, since it is related to thought, imaginative, metaphorical, creative, divergent non-linear and subjective, it is the one that most artists have more developedUnlike the left side, which is associated with the intellect, convergent, abstract, analytical, calculated, linear, sequential, and objective thinking.

Intuition is more important than it seems, many times we have made decisions knowing that they are correct without being able to explain why we know it, Socrates said that he always had a voice that, although he never told him what decision to make, always kept him away from those that were not convenient for him.. It is typically manifested through words, images, feelings or visceral sensations, which we do not always know how to interpret.

Professor Marius Usher of the University of Tel Aviv, conducted a study in 2011 on intuition in which he put participants to make arithmetic decisions quickly, for this the brain performs an assessment of each option. The teacher and his team pointed out that intuition was a surprisingly powerful and accurate tool, which is why they conclude that we can trust it.

Is it true that women have greater intuition than men? In a study carried out by the universities of Granada, Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona and Middlesex University of London in 2014  It was concluded that an important factor in the development of intuition is the amount of prenatal exposure to testosterone in the womb, due to this, women are more intuitive than men, since these receive greater exposure to testosterone tend to be more risky and less empathetic. 

Everything we have lived is registered in our mind, so sometimes without knowing why, we may have the feeling that some person is not trustworthy or a certain decision is the correct one, it is possible that in the past we have had similar experiences or We have met similar people and the mind uses the learning of everything we have experienced as a shortcut to help us make decisions in a matter of seconds without having to analyze them.

Intuition can be educated and exercised, we all have the ability to use this internal compass, but it is important to know how to work this ability to get the most out of it, since it will accompany us throughout our lives.

Strategies to improve intuition:

-Be relaxed and try to be aware of all the sensory information we receive: since many times we let it pass without processing it with attention, by doing this, at least a few minutes a day, for more than a few seconds we will be doing the basic work to develop intuition. It sounds simple, but it takes a lot of effort and practice to do this.

-Pay attention to our interior: To all the signals that the body sends us and our reactions, we must think that our senses are wanting to tell us something, we just have to learn to listen and reflect to capture our internal messages.

-Learn to listen: Many times we do not listen with attention and concentration, we must learn to listen not only to what is being said, but also to what is not said, the gaps or lack of data, can give us more information about something.

- Do question exercises: It is very useful to constantly ask ourselves questions, without thinking too much about the answers, answering them as automatically as possible. It is essential not to silence or cancel anything that comes to mind to eliminate possible blockages. Then we must analyze the answers to make sense of them.

-Use creativity to the fullest: observing people, their expressions, attitudes, and reactions can help us imagine stories about them, which helps us expand our minds. We can also use creativity to associate situations, stimuli, experiences, reactions, etc. and look for meaning to these associations.

-Be open to uncertainty and surprise: avoid making judgments or limit ourselves by the use of our rationality, we must let thoughts and feelings flow freely. It is important to complement it with rational thought, but this must be done once we have allowed our emotions to flow, otherwise rationality would limit us.

Intuition basically requires attention and the introspective habit of listening to ourselves requires self-confidence. It helps us to open ourselves to the new, to enhance the experiences that life offers us and to find the balance between our perceptions and reality.

It is useful and reasonable to be intuitive when reaching conclusions about such things as relationships, connection with others, and the appropriateness or inconvenience of certain life choices.

It is about learning to be open and relax, it teaches us to trust ourselves and not depend so much on others or a calculated reason.