Intuition is defined as the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that something is dangerous.
Oftentimes, it can be hard to differentiate between that little voice within, that immediate knowing, and irrational fears brooding over us. As a tarot card reader, I talk with many people who struggle between the two realms, and I too have struggled with this.
Learning how to touch base with your intuition takes practice and understanding. If you are unsure of whether you are listening to your intuition, or if fear is ruling your life, here are 7 signs that fear has taken over, not your intuition.
1. You always assume the worst, based on past trauma.
When you have an important decision or opportunity to think about, you often assume the worst, based on experience. Rather than listening to your heart, or allowing yourself an opportunity to even consider the decision, you immediately shut yourself down, a lot.
2. You settle for less than your dreams, a lot.
You have major goals and aspirations, however, you find it difficult to go after them. You think a lot about what you want, but never make actionable steps towards those goals. And when you try to push yourself, you find yourself paralyzed with anxiety, before shutting down again.
3. You say no to opportunities too often.
Oftentimes, you don’t even consider new opportunities, because you focus on the logical side of things, more so than listening to your gut. You view new opportunities as too risky to consider.
4. You say yes to please others, too often.
In many cases, you say yes to others before ever giving yourself a chance to consider your options. You do this because you don’t want to disappoint others. In turn, you find that you are often stretched beyond your limits, and your boundaries often get taken advantage of.
5. You struggle to make decisions.
When important decisions come up, you feel stuck. You go over every possible aspect of the situation, going between listening to your gut or listening to your logical side. In turn, in many cases, you either procrastinate or turn down opportunities because you don’t know what else to do.
6. You never listen to your heart.
You often find yourself at war with your heart. You want to listen to it, but you shut yourself down and think everything through from a logical standpoint. You don’t trust your own emotions.
7. You keep repeating the same cycles.
Because you don’t listen to your intuition or that little voice within, you find that you continue to end up in the same situations, repeating the same cycles. Our gut speaks to us and tells us what we need to hear to break karmic cycles. However, when we allow fear to rule over us, it can get in the way of our higher self trying to show us the way.