Have you ever heard a little voice in your head that you heard but second-guessed yourself? It happens every single day – all over the world.

Here’s the thing, your intuition knows best. When you go against your gut instinct, it’ll cost you. That might be literal. Or it might be a cost in another way. Regardless, your intuition is speaking to you for a reason — listen!

If you’re wondering, ‘why do we not listen to that inner voice that something isn’t right?‘ There are several reasons why; here are a few: 

• You haven’t learned the way intuition communicates with you. {Lucky for you, you’ll learn some ways your intuition is trying to get your attention!}
• You don’t trust your gut instinct. Perhaps this is the result of things not working out the way you thought it would in the past. However, it’s more likely you have learned to distrust your intuition (a common consequence in our society). 
  • This may also be because you’ve been taught to actively ignore your intuition. Unfortunately, it is often done by well-meaning adults telling you to do something even when you don’t want to because ‘it’s the right thing to do.’
• You let EGO get in your way. Often, your intuition may share a message with you that was not what you were expecting – or what you wanted. When this happens, you’ve let your ego win.

In this article, you will learn ways your intuition is trying to communicate with you, including physical signs. I’ll also share a story of how not listening to my intuition cost me $500. Plus, answers to your questions about ignoring your gut instincts. 

11 Signs Your Intuition is Trying to Speak to You

How do you know if your intuition is warning you? What happens when your intuition is giving you warning signs?

Learning to tap into your intuition is a practice that takes time. The best way to approach it is to practice, practice, practice.

This comes with a slight warning: You will likely find yourself taking missteps before you learn to accurately trust your gut and follow your intuition. This is OK! You’re not alone. Don’t let those missteps stop you from refining your practice or skills.

The best way to practice trusting your intuition is to start small. That said, this feels like I need to state the obvious: If you are new to this, I’d highly suggest not trying to listen to your intuition regarding significant life-altering decisions just yet. 

Now, you’re likely here right now because you are concerned that you’re not doing a good job listening to your intuition. Or, worried you are missing a sign. To help you out, let’s check out some warning signs your intuition is trying to reach that you might be ignoring.

Here are Warning Signs You’re Going Against Your Intuition

1. You feel lost or directionless.

• If you feel as though you don’t know what to do with your life, it is likely the result of not listening to your intuition. Perhaps, you know what you need to do, but you’re scared. You don’t want to take the necessary risk to listen to your gut.

If this is you right now, here’s the sign you’ve been seeking – Listen to that little voice in the back of your head. It’s probably saying “Take the risk. Follow your dreams.” 

2. Your life feels out of balance or out of control.

• Are you giving too much energy to things that don’t matter?
• Have you allowed your energy to flow to people or activities that do not help you to regenerate that energy (or return it)?
• Are you giving away your power to others?

If your life feels out of control, it might also result from living reactively instead of proactively (living the life you desire). Think of it like this – going with the flow of life, especially when it’s not the path you want, is a red flag. It’s essential to pursue the life you desire. Like, seriously critical you live the life you desire.

Note: Living the life you desire doesn’t require quitting your job and moving across the country with $5 in the bank. It is possible to pursue your dreams in your current situation; get creative! Oh, it also doesn’t mean that you need a job that is your life’s purpose. You can work a job that pays the bills and live a life of purpose outside of work.

3. You pretend that everything’s great — even if it isn’t (or pretending to be friendly or happy)

• You often feel as though “you have to be happy” or put on a show for others. You aren’t able to show up as yourself — authentically.
• Another example of this may involve censoring your true feelings around certain people. For example, if you had a great day and aren’t able to share it with people around you because you fear their reaction. In this case, you need to surround yourself with different people.

If you are doing either of these things, you might not be operating in alignment with your intuition. Think, what is it that’s causing you to sensor yourself or pretend everything is fine? What do you need to do to live more authentically?

4. You notice repetitive, unhealthy patterns.

• Have you noticed that you continue to make the wrong decision — over and over again?
• Do you continue to find yourself repeatedly in similar situations? Maybe you’re trying the same thing and getting the same results. Or, you’re trying new approaches to the problem but still not seeing results. 

Examples of repetitive, unhealthy behaviors:

• Allowing people to walk all over you.
• Letting others push your boundaries without sticking up for yourself.
• Putting others needs before your own.

There are definitely other ways this may manifest, consider the above list to be significantly abbreviated.

5. You avoid taking healthy risks

• Do you avoid making decisions or taking action on something because you fear the risk involved? 
• Have you not pursued something you really wanted because you were worried about what other people would think?

You’re letting your ego win if you avoid doing that thing because of what might happen. That means you’re ignoring guidance from your higher self (aka ignoring your intuition).  

6. You’re in your head too much (or indecisive)

• Being in your head means you’re overthink things. You’ve allowed thoughts to play on repeat in your mind. You cannot listen to what you need to be doing because of these ruminating thoughts. It’s time to clear your mind —meditation and journaling are great ways to break those negative thought loops.

Second-guessing yourself and/or indecision are hallmarks of ignoring your gut. Having a hard time making decisions is often the result of knowing within yourself what you need to do but allowing the expectation of what should be done to take over.

On a personal note: My acupuncturist once told me, “You think too much. You need to stop thinking.” He was trying to tell me that I needed to work on grounding myself, as my energy was imbalanced. It was time for me to trust my intuition and stop allowing my ego to take over.

7. You seek answers outside of yourself.

• In other words, you don’t trust yourself to make decisions, so you seek external approval.
• This may have resulted from something not working out how you imagined it would. You may have thought you were trusting your gut, but things fell apart and didn’t work out in your favor. Side note: It likely did work out in your favorite, it just showed up differently than you expected.
• On the other hand, it may be the result of conditioning. Someone essentially brainwashed you to stop believing your intuition — AKA gaslighting.
  • Gaslighting is when someone suggests what you felt or believed was wrong, yet you were correct (even if it is a difference in perspective). If you’ve been subjected to this, you likely don’t trust your instincts anymore.
  • You have to unlearn the influence of others. That said, this may require support from a therapist; being the victim of repeated gaslighting is a challenging experience to overcome on your own.
    • Note: Yes, I get the irony here – seeking help from someone else when you’ve allowed another person to influence you in the past. However, when you work with a therapist, they will help you to learn how to validate yourself. Which was a skill likely lost from being gaslit. 

There may be other reasons you’ve learned to no longer trust your gut. In our society, it is common for people to place too much emphasis on the logical decision. Often at the expense of teaching people to distrust their instincts. While you don’t want to entirely forgo the analytical aspect, you do need to learn how to balance the two.

On a personal note: Raising my hand over here. Oh, yea. This one hits close to home. Been there, done that. I’m sooo guilty of seeking answers outside of myself. It was almost always coupled with being in my head too much. When I let these things take over my mind, I inevitably ignore my intuition. That said, I’ve done my share of therpay and coaching to work through this one.

8. Your friends make you feel like the odd one out — or the weirdo of the group.

• If you’ve ever had that one friend (or a group of friends) that made you feel as though you were always the odd man out or the weirdo… Well, that can teach you to lose faith in your intuition.

Sound familiar? It might be a good time to read this article about Belonging versus Fitting In.

9. Someone asks you to do something you’re not comfortable with

• Are you feeling pressured to do something by a significant other, family member, friend, or co-worker? If you’re uncomfortable with the request, it’s a reminder to take note.

You’ve probably had this happen before. Someone asks you to do something that doesn’t fit your beliefs or values. Unfortunately, it’s not that uncommon. If you feel uneasy or uncomfortable with the request, you must listen to that feeling. It might be a lesson in setting or reinforcing boundaries. It might be a sign to stay away from that person (or limit contact). It’s up to you to determine the necessary outcome here; no matter what, listen to your instincts.  

10. Your health is suffering, including your mental health.

• Do you feel as though your health is suffering?
• Are you skipping meals or avoiding the things that used to bring you joy in life, such as working out, socializing, or watching your favorite TV show? 
• Are you feeling unmotivated to change shitty aspects in your life, such as terrible sleeping patterns or poor hygiene habits? 
• Have you noticed your mental health going downhill? Are you struggling to see the good in life? Or, lost hope?

If your health and/or mental health are sliding, it may be an indication you are not listening to your calling. If you have lost joy in doing your favorite things, it’s time to take a step back and assess what’s happening in your life. What are you doing or not doing right now? How can you change direction to pursue the life you want to live? What do you need to do to take care of your health and/or mental health right now?

11. It feels like every single door is being slammed shut in your face.

• Bruh, life isn’t always going to go how you want – or plan. In fact, when you are trying to forcefully make things happen in your life, it’s an indication you are listening to ego and not intuition. 
• Here’s the thing, no matter how badly you want something or how hard you are working toward it – if every door seems to be sealed shut, the message is clear. You need to try something else. Look for the detour. Things are not working out for you because it is not your path. 

If you forcefully try to make something happen, you’re going against what the Universe has in store for you. Your higher self is trying to grab your attention to guide you down another path — your intended path.

Physical Signs You’re Ignoring Your Intuition. AKA What it Feels Like. 

The most common phrase when we talk about ignoring intuition is “trust your gut.”

It makes you wonder, is there a physical manifestation of your intuition trying to speak to you? Absolutely!! Your intuition can talk to you in many ways; your body is one of those conduits.

What does ignoring your intuition feel like in your body? Here are three ways you may feel your intuition signaling you through physical signs:

1. Your gut is screaming at you

• Like, literal pain in your gut, stomach, and/or digestive tract. Many things can cause your digestive tract to be upset, including stress, immobility, and/or poor dietary choices. Of course, there are circumstances where the pain you’re feeling is a physical manifestation of a medical issue — Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, a stomach ulcer, or other digestive complications. Ultimately, if you are continually experiencing pain in your digestive tract, you need to listen to it!
  • Side note: Visit the doctor to make sure everything is OK. And consider what you can do in your life — stress management, physical activity, changing your dietary intake — to improve things.

On a personal note: This one manifested for me during a conversation. One summer, I was heavily invested in a weekly acupuncture routine. I worked an incredibly stressful job at the time, and acupuncture helped me cope. On this particular day, I had been to the acupuncturist the night before.

I met up with my mom for lunch at a local restaurant. As we sat there talking, my mom brought up the name of someone in my inner circle who regularly hung out with me. As my mom asked about this person, I felt my stomach churn. In speaking about this person, I felt even worse. I had gone from feeling incredible – acupuncture is seriously amazing – to instantly sick with the feeling of knots in my stomach. At the time, I didn’t understand what was happening.

So what happened? It was a physical manifestation of my intuition screaming at me; I needed to remove myself from the friendship as it was not serving my highest good. Even years later, returning to that memory causes my stomach to tighten instantly. Deep breath. In, out. Phew, I’m grateful to no longer have that sort of uneasiness.

2. You feel physically ill.

• Especially if you seem to miraculously recover when you are no longer in that situation.
  • Here are some signs and symptoms you may experience: heart palpitations, feeling anxious, sick to your stomach, nausea, vomiting/diarrhea, headache/migraine.
  • You may not experience all of these or any of them. You must get in touch with your body and recognize how intuition is reaching out to you. 
  • Also consider: These can be an idication of medical conditions. So, if they don’t resolve when you remove yourself from the situation, it’s time to schedule a check-up with your doc.

On a personal note: If we go back to the example shared in the Your Gut is Screaming at You section above, I felt sick to my stomach, nauseous, and started to feel the sweats coming on. This was all in addition to the knots in my stomach. It was almost as if I was hit with a stomach bug out of nowhere. When the topic changed, my symptoms lessened.

3. Goosebumps

• While not all goosebumps are “bad” signs, paying attention to how your body feels when you have them is crucial. If you are receiving other signals from your body that makes you feel icky or heavy, then take note of those goosebumps (or, as some people call them, goose pimples). Similarly, it might be a good sign if you get goosebumps associated with a feeling of lightness. 
• Here’s what you need to pay attention to when you experience goosebumps:
  • When did they happen?
  • Was it while interacting with someone?
  • Did they say something in particular when the goosebumps appeared? Or was it a general topic? 
  • What were you thinking about when you got the goosebumps? 

If you are getting goosebumps without explanation, it’s time to recognize the message being shared. Your intuition is trying to get your attention. 

Consequences of Ignoring Your Intuition

What happens when you don’t follow your intuition?

There are many different potential outcomes from not following your intuition. It depends entirely on what your intuition is trying to communicate to you. Depending on the circumstances, it might not be that big of a deal to ignore your intuition. Something tells me, though, you’re here because you have a lot riding on this decision. If there is any nagging feeling, thought in the back of your mind, or doubts… Listen to your intuition.

Here’s a story a short story for you. Spoiler: It cost me money.

What’s wrong with ignoring your intuition?

While it may seem that there aren’t any significant implications for ignoring your intuition, you may just find yourself facing the consequences later on. 

For myself, ignoring my intuition led to a situation that cost me $500 (see the story in the gray box above). Of course, there are other situations, not all resulting in financial loss. Either way, I no longer take the risk of ignoring my intuition. 

Here are three ways ignoring your intuition can work against you:

1. Things don’t work out in your favor.

It doesn’t matter how badly you want something; if it isn’t meant to be yours… then it won’t. Learning to accept that you are being guided by the Universe is so important. You need to learn to Trust the Process.

When things don’t work out the way we want, it can be easy to think that nothing will ever work out for you. However, there are greater things in store for you.

As a college student, I had fallen in love with nutrition and the idea of being a college instructor. After graduating with my Masters degree, I finally had the opportunity. My former professor offered me a position teaching at the very school I had fallen in love with the nutrition science.

When I accepted the position as an adjunct instructor. From day one, however, the full-time faculty told me they were working to add another full-time professor. I was on their radar for the position.

After waiting three years, the email finally hit my inbox, “We’re adding another full-time faculty position. We want you to apply!”

It was a mixed bag of emotions. This email literally came within 48 hours of my husband and I signing legally binding paperwork to buy a new home — out of state.

While I was crushed, it became clear the position wasn’t meant to for me. When my husband and I made the decision to move out of state, I had started dreaming of starting my own business. Another dream that had been on hold for several years.

So, yea. Working as a full-time instructor was something I had thought I wanted, but that wasn’t my path. While I initially was full of mixed emotions, looking back now, it’s clear that Divine timing was guiding me in another direction. My entrepreneurial spirit was calling and it was time to answer!

2. Deja-Vu: Repeating the same lesson — over and over again.

You might consider this one to be like the movie Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray’s character, Phil, experienced the same day repeatedly until he finally realized he needed to change.

When you keep finding yourself in the same situation over and over again, it’s time to ask yourself these questions: What do I need to do differently this time around? What lesson do I need to learn from this experience so I don’t continue to repeat it?

3. Distrust in your ability to make decisions

Exactly as the title says. When you repeatedly ignore your instincts, you’ll end up making the wrong decisions. As you make the wrong decisions, you will find yourself doubting your abilities. This type of distrust in your decision making can result in an inability to tap into your intuition when you need it most. Break the cycle. Start listening to your intuition. Slowly, over time, you’ll be able to listen to your intuition.

Can Your Gut Feeling be Right?

Absolutely!!

Here’s an article to help you learn which Crystals to use for enhancing your intuition.

When you learn to trust your intuition, you may question everything. Is it actually possible your gut feeling is right? Was it really just a coincidence?

Initially, there may be an element of self-doubt. However, the more you see results, the more you will see things differently.

Over the years, I’ve swung back and forth trusting my gut and ignoring it. There have been times when my intuition was absolutely right, yet I allowed others instill doubt in my mind. As a result of that doubt, I stopped believing in myself and my abilities. But, after losing out on over $500, I’ve taken a vow to listen to that gut feeling.

There are signs of ignoring your intuition, including physical manifestations such as goosebumps. And, there are consequences for not following your intuition. If you’re lucky, those consequences will be minimal. If you’re me — it cost over $500 before I took note and realize it’s time to stay true to myself.

If you have a hard time trusting yourself, it’s likely that you will struggle to trust your intuition. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever be able to trust your instincts. Instead, it just means you have to work on refining your practice. Inevitably, it will be scary at first. It may even feel like you’re doing the wrong thing. If you align with your higher self and your intuition, you will (eventually) recognize that fear was unwarranted — everything worked out.

If you desire true success — however you define that — you need to learn how to tap into your intuition. It’s time to learn how to recognize what is best for you. The sooner you can do this, the sooner you’ll truly begin to live.

You might feel as though you are being paranoid, it’s common. The fact of the matter, if it feels like something is wrong, it’s important to dig deeper and investigate. All in all, pay attention to your intuition; it’s the only thing in this world that’s operating purely YOUR best interest!

Tell me, was there a time you didn’t listen to your intuition and it cost you something? Drop a comment below!