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Trusting Your Intuition

Dreamer

Potential is My Addiction
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This is certainly open to everyone to respond as we all have that “6th sense”, but I’m particularly curious to hear from the Intuitives as I wonder how much trust, faith, dependence, whatever you wish to call it, of your intuitions you think you might have? Additionally, whereabouts are you in life as far as maturity or age and do you think that has contributed to your current viewpoint?
 

Riva

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I believe NJs are the best at 'trusting' their intuition and INTJs the most. Their secondary Te will help quickly weight the pros and cons (get a measure of it) and help them 'decisively' execute the trust they have on intuition.

I have only recently begun to trust intuition and I feel as though I am much more adaptable - to whatever circumstances - when I do so compared to when I am using logic/reason. It's not an easy thing to do to start trusting it.

Age had nothing to do with it.

Yes, I am using Ni as a measure of this 'intuition/sixth sense'. Depending on what you consider to be sixth sense, maybe it's wrong to do so.
 

Dreamer

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I will say that growing up, I relied heavily on my intuitions, but of course, I didn’t call it that back then or didn’t even think of it as a “feeling” or instinctual, but I know I did growing up because as far removed from reality as my mental wanderings might be on the forum or as they are in real life, they are also FAR more placed in reality than they once were. It isn’t that I no longer dream the same way as I did when I was a young Dreamer, but that I have given those dreams a context from which I can then extract and realize to fruition.

Additionally, the same sorts of initial readings of situations and people that I used to have, I still get today obviously, but I allow myself room to question those readings and to verify if I think what I initially feel, is accurate given the tangible evidence I can muster. There are however times, when my intuitions are just so plainly obvious to me they actually aren’t recognized as “intuitions” at that point because it’s so certain it feels like common sense, like literally everyone is seeing what I’m seeing. In those moments, which don’t happen all the time, ya, I still put faith in it. But maybe as I continue to mature and grow, those “certain” intuitions will become just as the others have, as just another data point to grab information from.

I have a few members on the forum in mind that has helped me to develop tremendously in this area and I thank them to no end, but will keep them anonymous so I don’t embarrass them :D
 

Dreamer

Potential is My Addiction
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I believe NJs are the best at 'trusting' their intuition and INTJs the most. Their secondary Te will help quickly weight the pros and cons (get a measure of it) and help them 'decisively' execute the trust they have on intuition.

I have only recently begun to trust intuition and I feel as though I am much more adaptable - to whatever circumstances - when I do so compared to when I am using logic/reason. It's not an easy thing to do to start trusting it.

Age had nothing to do with it.

Yes, I am using Ni as a measure of this 'intuition/sixth sense'. Depending on what you consider to be sixth sense, maybe it's wrong to do so.


Ya, what you say makes a great deal of sense! I could see the NFJs and NTJs being more certain or “trusting” of their intuitions as Ni can lend itself that sense of certainty, particularly for younger, less developed people I might imagine.

And I admit, describing intuition as a “6th sense” really, is inaccurate as that sort of gut feeling can just as well come from say, Fi or wherever else too.

I find your experience interesting as well. Is there a particular reason you began trusting your intuition? It’s fun to hear you feel yourself as more adaptable to situations when you put more trust in it as I never considered intuition as lending a sort of adaptability to one’s life. Awesome! :)
 

Coriolis

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I believe NJs are the best at 'trusting' their intuition and INTJs the most. Their secondary Te will help quickly weight the pros and cons (get a measure of it) and help them 'decisively' execute the trust they have on intuition.

I have only recently begun to trust intuition and I feel as though I am much more adaptable - to whatever circumstances - when I do so compared to when I am using logic/reason. It's not an easy thing to do to start trusting it.

Age had nothing to do with it.
I disagree about age. The more experience we gain of our intuitions being correct, the more basis we have for trusting them. I understand that even young NJs may have every confidence in their intuitions, even when misplaced. The difference is that when young, we feel we can trust our intuitions. The older we get (i.e. the more life experiences we accumulate), the more we know we can trust them, and more importantly, when we can trust them, and when it would be better to get more information.
 

Peter Deadpan

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My intuitions about the inner workings of others are usually pretty accurate (sometimes they are a bit off and I am too stubborn to accept that right away, which can be frustrating to others), but my intuitions regarding my life choices tend to be less clear; are they intuitive truths or am I over-analyzing? It can be quite a struggle.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm 172 years old, btw.
 

Riva

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Ya, what you say makes a great deal of sense! I could see the NFJs and NTJs being more certain or “trusting” of their intuitions as Ni can lend itself that sense of certainty, particularly for younger, less developed people I might imagine.

And I admit, describing intuition as a “6th sense” really, is inaccurate as that sort of gut feeling can just as well come from say, Fi or wherever else too.

I find your experience interesting as well. Is there a particular reason you began trusting your intuition? It’s fun to hear you feel yourself as more adaptable to situations when you put more trust in it as I never considered intuition as lending a sort of adaptability to one’s life. Awesome! :)

The intuition I am referring to is more like inner-answers (answers without thinking/hunches). I am not using the word inner-voice, because an inner voice has thinking attached to it.

I think for Ni types it's easier to look inside for answers. This is especially true for INTJs (most probably for INFJs too) not only because it's their primary function but because as introverts their competency would be to look within.

With the same logic I have given above - I believe it's harder for a non NJs to trust their inner-answers.
For a SJ their intuition will be clouded by their Si.
For EPs it would be clouded by Pe because they would like to bounce intuition off on people and filter it with their secondary function Ji by which time intuition will be shot down a bit. Besides EPs are extroverts, they take-things from the outside, not so much from the inside.
For ITPs Ti would naturally try to go to the core of their logic by which time Ni would be shot down.
Not sure about IFPs.

With regards to adaptability - intuition doesn't care so much for logic, or your values, or what's right, or this is how things should be etc. It's answers to the subconscious questions that are pressing on you RIGHT NOW. So when you trust your intuition you kinda learn to let go of those 'reasons' that might question it and ADAPT for the 'RIGHT NOW'. You will still have those values, logic etc but intuition will make you use those later.

My answer might not be the best.

----

I started trusting it because I realized I am much more comfortable with my decisions when I do so.
 

Poki

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I validate and check my intuitions and learn whats behind stuff. Just being intuitive only goes so far. I know many intuitives that i have no trust in their intuition.
 

Jaguar

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I know many intuitives that i have no trust in their intuition.

No shit. And I'm an NTJ. I am so tired of typing this for 10 years but here it comes again: type=/= skill or ability.
 

rav3n

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When it matters, I fact check my iNtuition. When it doesn't and observations don't conflict, then I tend to trust it. When it comes to people, I tend to trust it since it's rarely wrong.
 

Forever

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When it comes to being about people, I'm pretty spot on. It's what my intuition is honed to being. Other matters.. I'm just "normal" at it you could say. (meaning I make mistakes like everyone else does)

Like I don't know the purpose of my life. I have to still punch out and crank out numbers for mathematics.

My high openness allows me some grace in life though while increased hardship's in others.
 

Dashy CVII

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I find that Ne users are the most colloquially "intuitive."

Ni is an open-minded, inward ideational process of moving through information. Being an internal perciever myself, it's totally not straightforward or clear, but centers on internal exploration, imagination, and abstraction. I don't know how colloquially intuitive Ni is as much as it is inwardly abstract and conceptual. I go with Ni and see where it leads me, and see what new avenues of thought or perspective it can bring.

Ne being external, is really about catching (and being open-minded to) things in the moment: patterns, hunches, big-picture of what's being presented, what people are really thinking, exploring layers within the moment. That is the hallmark Ne type, and why Ne types are often so immediately intuitive about things or people. Ni types on the other hand reach impactful insights upon reflective thought.

Then J primary types, especially INxPs, are the ones I find with the most personal clarity and gut understanding, matching exactly what Lenore Thomsons says on this subject. This gut understanding of INxPs is perhaps because intuition isn't actually perception, it is a type of personal hunch judgement. Ji easily connects into Pe "sensation," something that Ni is not really for.

As far as colloquial intuition, I do trust it to a degree, but don't really see it as a necessary focus of Ni.
 
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My intuition is usually spot on. Unfortunately, still on occasion it gets tripped up by my wanting to believe there’s more to an individual or situation than my first impressions. Sometimes self doubt is a real roadblock too. Other types have the confidence but when NF’s trust in themselves I think we can delve deeply with what appears to be little information.

Offline I have so much more input to work with. Non verbal cues are huge even if their presentation is subtle. Wisdom from being an old fucker can’t be understated. When you spend a lifetime of people trying to pull one over on you, you can perceive bs fairly quickly.

We all have a database of past experiences that is partially accessible on a conscious level but somewhat works in the subconscious as well. Things that are processed with amazing speed. Micro expressions the subtlest shake in a voice. All these inputs are assessed and compiled into a working file within minutes of meeting someone.

Again, a whole realm of information is denied to us in online interactions however.
 

Tilt

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No shit. And I'm an NTJ. I am so tired of typing this for 10 years but here it comes again: type=/= skill or ability.
Ha I first check to see if their perception of reality is sound. If not, I stay cautious. I look for limiting factors and vulnerabilities which may color the perceptions. That being said, I have stayed in situations where most people have warned me to leave but I felt in my gut that it would benefit me and it came out in my favor. My life seems oddly lucky that way consistently.

When it matters, I fact check my iNtuition. When it doesn't and observations don't conflict, then I tend to trust it. When it comes to people, I tend to trust it since it's rarely wrong.

Same... I can sense a subtle change quite quickly but it sometimes takes time for things to unfold.
 

á´…eparted

passages
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It depends on the area. Sometimes I trust my intuition implicitly. Others, barely at all. I trust my intuition with social things much more, as it very rarely lets me down.
 

Frosty

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I tend to... dismiss both my feelings/intuition about a situation because of self doubt. I know that Im not- Im not like omniscient, and that makes me be really really open to being wrong.

Which causes problems because when Im right, but assume Im wrong, it gives more chance for wrongness to grow. Sometimes you have to say something.

And that- well. Guess that w1s wanting to poke its head in- it just has to get around that positive outlook 9. Or work with it. Not bad to have a balance between everything being completely ok- and some things... just not
 

Amargith

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Im at that point in life (mid 30s) where ignoring my intuition is still sometimes a knee-jerk reaction that i *every time* regret. Ive become a lot more brazen about just following it, though I do make it a point to fact check or add a qualifier to my statements if i haven't had a chance to yet. But 95 percent of the time, its bang on. And the other 5, its coz i was missing one little vital detail of information that I couldn't have known, ime.

I used to second guess myself all the time - and that wasnt a bad thing necessarily, as verifying it made me fine-tune it. But it would've saved me a lot of self-doubt and angst if I'd just put a little more stock in it and listened less to others and more to myself.
 

chickpea

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i consider it one of my greatest strengths, especially when it comes to people. little things can give me a bad feeling about someone, that ends up being indicative of a much larger thing. i’ve been right too often to not trust myself!
 
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I get these perceptions about things, particularly people and am able to pick up on their energy. I find it pretty easy to dig beneath the surface of one's intentions and form an understanding based on that, in addition to connecting the dots together once I find more information to form a larger picture. There are two sides of the coin, and I find many people are unable to broaden their viewpoint because they get stuck into thinking their initial reaction was right.
 
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