Intuitive Thinking Makes Me Better (my 6 favorite tips)

In 2023, I wrote one song everyday for a year. I wanted to improve my creativity, confidence and music production chops. But something else also improved – my intuition.

Forced to create something everyday meant relying on speed and intuition over perfectionism.

I’m a musician and content creator who likes to travel and blog. And intuitive thinking is a key part of my processes and lifestyle.

From better creativity to more adventurous traveling, intuition is always there.

So I’m here to share my absolute favorite tips with you, so you can better hone your own inner-voice skills.

Now let’s get to it!

Table of Contents Show

    What Is Intuitive Thinking?

    Intuitive thinking is instinctual and automatic, based on past experience, expertise or environmental cues.

    Intuition means listening to your first gut reaction.

    Even our evolution as a species plays a role in how we react to our environment and its various stressors. Just consider the fight, flight or freeze response.

    With intuitive behavior, everything comes together for a split moment, forming a gut feeling followed by some non-analytical action.

    Learning to recognize this moment (and think more intuitively) is a skill – but it’s something anyone can learn.

    Benefits of Intuitive Thinking

    • Make more aligned decisions

    • Make decisions quicker

    • Increase your creativity

    • Become more self aware and in-tune with your mind and body

    • Boost self confidence and trust your instincts more

    • Strengthen your imagination

    • Be more flexible and adaptable

    • Improve trust if yourself

    Examples of Intuitive Thinking

    • Athletes reacting in the moment

    • Business leaders making difficult decisions

    • Having a strong gut feeling or sudden aha moment

    • Artists working in a flow state

    • Driving

    • Spontaneous traveling

    • Spur-of-the moment actions or ideas

    6 Tips to Think More Intuitively

    Intuitive thinking is a soft skill that you can strengthen.

    These are my top moves to sharpen your abilities.

    1. Become More Relaxed In Life

    Intuitive thinking requires a relaxed state of mind.

    Because, as you may know, thinking freely and intuitively when you’re coming from a place of stress, fear or anxiety is pretty hard.

    A calm and relaxed mind is required.

    So to get better at intuitive thinking, you should simultaneously work on becoming more chill in life.

    Luckily, since carefreeness sort of my whole schtick, I have some helpful tips worth sharing.

    Here are a few things to know:

    • Practice minimalism (less stuff → less stuff to worry about)

    • Do regular social media detoxes

    • Prioritize your passions and do more of what you want

    • Practice seeing the bright side of things (become more optimistic)

    • Turn off the news

    • Take more time away (for example, travel more)

    2. Practice With Stuff You’re Good At (+ build new skills)

    Intuition thrives when you don’t have to think too much about what you’re doing.

    Skills and expertise are precursors to intuitive thinking. When knowledge is subconscious, you can get into a flow state and make decisions quicker.

    This is intuitive thinking.

    To highlight this point, it can help to consider the opposite: skill deficits or a lack of expertise in a particular thing.

    Skill deficits are bottlenecks to any process. These hangups create friction and make intuitive thinking more difficult.

    So a great way to think more intuitively is to either practice with things you’re already good at or sharpen your skills in what you want to be more intuitive with.

    3. Get Creative

    Creativity is an awesome way to sharpen your intuitive thinking skills.

    And you don’t need to write a song everyday for a year like I did.

    Art and creative acts are naturally intuitive (when you’re not concerned with quality or perfectionism).

    Here are a few creative ideas to sharpen your intuitive thinking skills:

    • Intuitive writing

    • Automatic writing

    • Art journaling

    • Abstract painting

    • Creating simple designs in Canva

    • Writing music or learning an instrument

    • Intuitive photography

    Intuition is connected with right-brain functionality. And as you probably already know, so is creativity.

    So sharpening your creative skills is a solid way to boost your intuitive capabilities.

    And don’t stress. Because if you’re reading this, you’ve got artistic chops to tap into. It’s a human thing.

    Explore more:
    My Favorite Creative Outlets

    4. Don’t Judge Intuition

    Not every thought or idea can be a winner.

    Part of intuitive thinking is the ability to not judge too hastily. This can be hard.

    Often, intuition goes against what evidence, logic and the people around you are telling you.

    So it requires a leap of faith and holding off on snap judgments.

    And even when ideas don’t pan out (despite them being intuitive), it’s important to not hold any grudges or be dismissive about intuition altogether because of it.

    Your intuition does best when you give it space to express itself fully.

    5. Learn to Recognize Your Intuitive Signs

    Intuition can be quiet.

    A subtle tug here, a small pull there – it’s easy to miss! No wonder we struggle.

    Luckily, you can get better at recognizing the hints. So here are some signs of intuition to watch for:

    • Persistent thoughts or feelings that won’t go away

    • That “pit in your stomach” feeling

    • Picking up on a vibe

    • Butterflies or stomach nausea

    • Excitement and sudden burst of energy for an idea

    • Vivid dreams

    • Sudden clarity

    Now, let’s look at some ways you can improve your awareness and recognition of those signs:

    • Start a meditation to improve your awareness

    • Practice daily body scanning

    • Check for cognitive biases or environmental influences

    • Live more mindfully

    Getting better at recognizing your intuition is about trusting yourself and listening to that inner voice (even if you don’t always like what it’s saying).

    6. Start Small

    Whether you’re learning a new skill or adopting a fresh lifestyle, it doesn’t happen overnight.

    The same is true for developing your intuitive thinking. So it’s smart to develop this ability slowly and sustainably.

    Try taking baby steps by practicing intuitive thinking with simple decisions or approaching it with curiosity.

    Follow your gut – see where it takes you!

    Over time, you’ll get better at recognizing intuitive signs, trusting them and making quick decisions based on them.

    But, for sustainable growth, start small and develop the skill slowly.

    Later ✌️

    Intuitive thinking is thinking more instinctually. And anyone can learn how to do it.

    For me, it helps me with creativity, self awareness and even living a more aligned, carefree life.

    Some of my favorite tips are doing more creative things, becoming more chill in life, building out your skills and expertise and learning to recognize the signs.

    But ultimately, it’s something to develop over time.

    So stay patient and just enjoy the intuitive process.


    Want More? Nice. Here’s More.

    quin

    Hey. My name is Quin.

    I’m an artist, musician, blogger and digital creator who loves to travel. And I’m on a mission to inspire more creativity, adventure and carefreeness.

    I also spend a lot of time in Japan and drink too much coffee.

    Through my websites and passions, I’m building a personal multi-brand. It’s all a creative project and I’m loving every minute of it — everything is art…

    So welcome, I’m stoked you’re here! Drop me an email to say what’s up :]

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