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“I feel there are two people inside me – me and my intuition. If I go against her, she’ll screw me every time, and if I follow her, we get along quite nicely.”

– Kim Basinger

Hearing voices and acting upon their instruction is a typical symptom of mental illness. According to many succesful people, it is also one of the most sensible things a sane person can do. Philosophers, business people and mystics alike proclaim this inner guiding voice to be our intuition or instinct. In the wise words of eminent scientist Albert Einstein, “The only real valuable thing is intuition.”

Follow this two-step process and let your inner voice guide you:

Step One: Identify your intuition. Have you ever conjured an amazing idea from absolutely nowhere? Have you ever ignored the sensible voice in your head only to later regret not listening? Have you ever had a ‘feeling’ that something good or bad would happen and then it did?

If you’ve experienced any of the above, you will know that intuition speaks out loud and clear, but whether we stop to listen and follow the advice is a different story altogether. Once you have identified past brushes with intuition, you will become more aware of it occurring on a daily basis. Your intuition may appear as a thought, a feeling in your bones or a niggling discomfort – something that only you will recognise. When intuition strikes, move on to Step Two.

Step Two: Trust intuitive thoughts and feelings. This may be difficult as it involves following your own advice, rather than that of your friends, family or those more “qualified”. Intuition often defies logic and while it’s smart to rationalise decisions, that doesn’t always work. Unless you have terrible judgment, remember that you know yourself best. As Ingrid Bergman said, “You must train your intuition – you must trust the small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide.” Trust is paramount to making intuition work for you and if you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?

Listening to the voice of your intuition can pay fabulous dividends. It can help you make tricky decisions, warn you away from danger, or let you know when your mother is telephoning! Intuition is a powerful asset and as Kim Basinger pointed out, listening to our inner voice can help us get along quite nicely. Who could ask for more?