Intuition vs Ego

How do you know whether the small, still voice you’re listening to is the right small, still voice to listen to?

Have you ever tried to check in with your intuition, only to discover that you can’t distinguish the voice of your inner wisdom from the silver-tongued whispers of your ego?

I’ve found that in moments when I’m trying to listen to my intuition in order to make a decision, my ego gets very sneaky and seductive and tries to convince me that the voice of my Fear is the voice of my intuition. My ego is a master of disguise. A chameleon.

It can feel very confusing and frustrating, especially if I’m actively trying to practice checking in with my intuition and my ego hijacks my attempts to listen to my inner soul wisdom.

Not cool, Ego, not cool.

So how can we tell those voices apart if they sound the same? How can I discern whether I’m listening to my intuition or whether I’m buying my ego masquerading as my intuition?

Here’s an important clue: your intuition is never going to be mean to you.

If your inner voice is critical, unkind or makes you feel small, it’s not your intuition, it’s an imposter. Your ego is clever, sure, but it can’t help using old tried-and-true scare tactics to belittle you into what your Fear thinks is behaving.

Another hint that your intuition is not your inner wisdom but rather an imposter in imitation robes of enlightenment is to notice how you feel when you listen to the voice speaking to you. Do you feel constricted, constrained or diminished? If so, it’s probably your ego who’s grabbed the microphone.

Listening to your intuition may not necessarily feel easy, but it won’t make you feel awful about yourself, either. What your spirit needs you to hear might not be convenient or comfortable, but it’s the kind of discomfort that grows you rather than diminishes, discourages or disparages you.

Lastly, when you’re trying to make a difficult choice, does one option feel like relief? Our ego will happily provide us with a plethora of options that get us off the hook, but if we’re being really honest with ourselves, we feel a little like we’re taking the easy way out.

There’s a difference between the relief of letting ourselves “cheat” or find a shortcut and the deeper relief of acting in integrity and alignment with our deepest desires and deepest truths.

Your intuition might be delivering some tough love, but the love part will be there. Your ego tends to miss that part.