The Unspoken Language of Intuition: Why Trusting Your Gut Isn’t Woo-Woo

Have you ever had a gut feeling you couldn’t explain… maybe about a person… a decision… or a situation… and later thought, “I knew it”?

At the time, you couldn’t have explained it if someone asked...

There was no proof...

It didn’t seem logical...

But somehow, you just knew.

If you’re like me and tend to overthink things, you might have questioned that feeling:
“Am I overreacting?”
“Is this just anxiety?”

But do you know what? Gut feelings are real.

They’re not our imagination. And they’re worth paying attention to.

There’s nothing mystical or irrational about them at all. It’s quite simply science – a combination of neuroscience and psychology.

What is intuition, really?

Intuition isn’t a Jedi mind trick or a magical superpower. Its information delivered – often quietly - from the subconscious part of our brain.

Our brain is constantly scanning our environment for patterns, familiarity, and safety without us being consciously aware of it. This process happens lightning-fast, way before the thinking part of our brain catches up. Think of it like your brain doing complex math in the background without showing you the equation - and intuition is the answer that pops up.

But… it’s just a “feeling” isn’t it?

We call them “gut feelings” because they often show up physically first. Things like:

• A tightening in your stomach
• A heaviness - or openness - in your chest
• A sudden tensing in your shoulders or neck, or conversely, a sense of calm
• A subtle feeling that something is “off”

Much like what often happens with our emotions, these subtle signals bypass rational thought at first – which is why they feel a bit mysterious. But they’re not. It’s just that our nervous system processes those subtle cues faster than your thinking brain can.

So… Intuition? Or anxiety? How do we tell the difference?

Here’s where it can get tricky, because they can feel similar at first. They both show up in the body - but they feel quite different when you pay closer attention.

You see, anxiety tends to feel loud… urgent… or even panicky. It wants immediate attention or reassurance. And it escalates quickly, often spiralling into “what-ifs”.

On the other hand, intuition usually arrives more quietly – but still noticeably. It might feel uncomfortable, but it’s pretty steady, staying fairly consistent and not really escalating (unless you’re truly in a potentially dangerous situation). It kind of says, “Hmmm… something feels off…”, but allows space for more rational thought and reflection.

In short: intuition whispers. Anxiety shouts.

So why do many of us tend to ignore intuition?

Well, we live in a world full of noise and distraction. We’re surrounded by constant stimulation and endless information. Most of us have been raised in - and work in - environments that reward logic over instinct, leaving us feeling pressured to justify our feelings. We basically learn to override intuition.

But here’s the cool thing. Every time you acknowledge those internal signals your body is sending you - even if you don’t act on them – you slowly start to build self-trust.

Alright, so then, how do we begin to strengthen our intuition?

One of the best tools for helping us pay attention to our inner guidance? Mindfulness.
I’m not talking about using it as a spiritual practice – though it can be.

I’m talking about it as a simple and practical way to help quiet some of the mental chatter and over-stimulation happening in our minds and bodies so you can start to notice the things your body is telling you.

Something super-simple like this:

• Stop what you’re doing and take a few slow, deep breaths. Pay attention to your breaths in and out to help you stop the inner babble (or tune out the external kind).
• Ask yourself: “What is this I am I feeling in my body right now?”. Pay attention to where you feel it.
• That’s all for now. Don’t judge it. Just notice it.

The more you practice, the easier it becomes to hear those whispers.

Here’s a few thoughts or questions you can either journal out or take with you on your next walk:

• Can you recall a time you had a gut feeling and ignored it? What happened?
• How did your body try to get your attention?
• What would it look like to trust yourself one notch more next time?

Final Thought

Remember: intuition isn’t mystical and it’s not irrational.

It’s literally just data - processed faster than your conscious mind can keep up with.

And it’s something we all have, if we slow down and listen.

💜 Want more tools to build self-trust and calm mental chatter? Check out my free resources at transformativejourneys.ca or come say hi on Instagram @transformativejourneys.johanna.

👉 Looking for more on this? Episode 37 of the podcast goes deeper into how to spot the difference between intuition and anxiety - with real examples and some myth-busting along the way.

Audio: https://transformativejourneys.ca/podcast-episodes

Enhanced video version: https://www.youtube.com/@TransformativeJourneys-Johanna