3 Ways to Strengthen Your Intuition
When it comes to being an adult, living in and moving about the world on your own, including in your travels, there is perhaps no skill more necessary than knowing how to listen to your intuition. To listen and follow your intuition is to really know yourself -- and this type of personal intimacy will keep you safe, introduce you to quality people and lead you to discover the most meaningful places to you in a new (or familiar) destination, among other amazing experiences in your life. Of course, learning to trust your gut over your head takes practice -- and being alone in a foreign city for the first time may not be the safest place to start. However, there are great ways to flex those intuitive muscles and learn to understand where your intuition takes you, so that when you are ready for your first solo trip, you have a strong understanding of where you feel safest, most intrigued and happiest.
Find Your Cultural Stimuli - Each person approaches a trip with a different goal in mind. Some visit Italy for the amazing food, shopping, history, scenery, what have you. Each destination has unique cultural aspects that will match with your personal passions, and a big mistake travelers make is visiting attractions because they think they should, not because they truly want to. That means those people are wasting precious time they could be spending filling their hearts with an experience that will truly move them. For me, I LOVE art museums -- I don’t necessarily know much about fine art, but one of my favorite parts of visiting museums to see art is that they’ve already decided it’s good. I love visiting a museum and letting myself wander toward what I find beautiful or interesting and away from anything I don’t particularly want to look at. Every time I leave the museum, I’ve learned something new about myself based on the art I was drawn to simply by following my gut. If you are planning a trip, make a list of all the places you’ve been recommended along with places you’ve learned about on your own that intrigue you -- now, take a pen and hover it over each list item and listen to what your gut is telling you about whether or not you want to visit it. You’ll then have a list of attractions catered to you and your interests. When you’re there, tune into whether or not you enjoyed it and why, and voilá! You’ve learned more about yourself and are a step closer to trusting your intuition fully.
Express Yourself -- One of the many important lessons I’ve learned from my sisters is that true style isn’t about keeping up with trends, but being comfortable and confident with whatever fashion feels authentic to you. Our appearances are the loudest form of self-expression, because it is the first thing people notice about us before we ever open our mouths. This goes beyond the clothes we wear -- it’s how we carry ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I carry myself a hell of a lot taller when I am feeling #onfleek. For me, I love shopping at secondhand scores because thrift and vintage shops are a depository of trends through the ages. I also personally feel great about wearing upcycled clothes because I know it’s a friendly environmental choice. I recommend you take a friend shopping with you who you feel your best self around, so when you find an item that speaks to you and you walk out of that changing stall in something that screams “IT ME,” they will be the first to agree. That first nod of approval is the first step in building that trust with yourself that you know what looks and feels best on you. You’ll be shining from the inside out in no time.
Lean Into Your Indulgences - We all have a guilty pleasure, a hobby or an interest that is all our own. And if you don’t, I recommend you do some self-exploring to find an activity or an item that is guaranteed to relax you or put a smile on your face. Of course, it’s great to find something that you and your friends all love, but discovering something that is all your own will also lead you to people with similar interests -- possibly new people and a whole new group of friends, and give you peace when you find yourself alone. For example, wine is one of my favorite indulgences to enjoy and explore. I love drinking wine on my own, tasting in groups and speaking with sommeliers and beverage directors at restaurants who can teach me about the wines they recommend. I have met peers who share this interest and have introduced me to and educated me about wines while becoming some of my dearest friends. To get started on this step, think about what you look forward to most about a day off, a meal or a vacation. Find ways you can experience those things more in your everyday life and what about them you can learn more about. For practically any food or beverage genre, physical activity, etc. there is a community of people, be it online, specialty shops or a class, that share the interest and can indulge you further in your indulgence and heighten your experiences with it.
