Do you follow your head or your heart?

My friend Karim told me about his adventures in India where each day he'd wake up, pull out a rupee coin, and make a decision based on how the coin landed when he flipped it. Heads, he wore the blue shirt, tails he wore the green one. Heads - toast for brekkie, tails - dahl. And out the door, heads - go left, tails - go right.

In this way he explored Delhi and found himself in the Flower Market, having met some incredible people, discovered amazing scenes of colour and vibrancy, and immersed himself in the scintillating pulse of India. What might he have missed if he had just pulled out the guidebook and trudged through lanes, arriving at the destination selected for the day...

Now I'm all for deliberate creation, getting clear on exactly what you want (like visiting the Flower Market for the day), and maintaining your vibrational resonance with that outcome. Having a goal is great! Being focused on that goal is terrific!

But are you following your HEAD or your HEART to get there? What are you missing along the way? Do you march right over the Flower Market, have a look around, and then check it off your list? Or do you saunter there, smelling India's spicy aroma , feasting on colours, swaying to its jaunty rhythms, smiling at the toothless street sweeper...

If you're like most of us, you make mostly head-based decisions: explore the options, weigh up the pros and cons, and make the 'best' decision based on a rational assessment.

So what's wrong with this picture?

You're only using 5% of your resources.

95% of our life is managed without deliberate, focused, conscious effort. Look at what's run by the 'unconscious' part of You - things like digestion, cell repair, healing, breathing, heart beat, awareness of danger, attraction to pleasure.

Your intuition is the guide to the larger part of You - the part of you that extends beyond the physical focus point and connects you to the matrix of energy that makes up everything. There's been some awesome research and writing in this area - Lynn McTaggart's the Intention Experiment, Michael Talbot's the Holographic Universe, and many more.

What you need to know is that if you are guided only by the piddly 5% of You and rely on rationalising everything, you will be missing out on delights that your soul is craving. You may even railroad yourself into making decisions that look good on paper, but feel terrible.

Like taking that job you thought would be a good career move but ended up sick to your stomach with stress; or that relationship you stuck with because you thought it was the 'right' thing to do, only to be dumped finally when your partner was brave enough and ended the misery for you both; or that dinner date you accepted out of guilt even though all you longed for was a quiet evening at home with the cat and a good movie...

Your intuition is the bridge between the 5% conscious you and the rest of You that wants you to be happy, joyful, delighted, and in love with life.

It has two simple instructions:

1. Feels good - in the right direction

2. Feels bad - in the wrong direction.

So why aren't you following it?

Likely you are hooked on the illusion of control - that if you think about it long and hard enough you'll be able to figure it out.

Like I said, that's using 5% of You and doing it the hard way.

It's time to start trusting your intuition . And that's where Karim's coin comes in to play - it teaches you to let go of being attached to the outcome, and trust something outside of your rational brain for guidance. By using a coin flip to make decisions about smaller things - like what will I wear today? what will I have for lunch? which way will I drive to work? you start to lose your grip on having to figure everything out and TRUST you will be guided the right way AND you will be able to handle whatever comes up.

After you practise with the coin, you can start to listen that inner knowing part of you - your intuition - for guidance. Simply ask, what feels better - red socks or blue? coffee or tea? write this report now or make that phone call?

The more you consult and listen to your intuition, the more confidence you will have in it, and you will be able to make significant decisions with confidence, by consulting what feels right - and not just what you think is right. Thinking is definitely over-rated.

I'd love to hear about your experiences with intuition - send me an email, or drop by the blog and say hi.

With love and appreciation.

Author's Bio: 

Leadership Coach, Speaker, and Author Zoe Routh works with women in business to enhance their personal effectiveness and leadership capacity for global effect. For free tips on how to become a more effective leader that will save you time, money, energy, and stress, go to http://www.innercompass.com.au