Top 10 Ways to STOP second guessing yourself was inspired by a comment left on my YouTube Channel. “I get intuitive hits… but I always second-guess myself.” Does this sound familiar to you? If it does, you’re not alone. In fact, in a recent survey I sent out to you and my mailing list, second-guessing intuition was one of the top frustrations. Would you love to know how you can begin to trust your intuition? In this blog post, I have created a list of the top 10 ways to STOP second-guessing yourself, and maybe even START trusting your intuition.
And I get it—because I’ve been there too.
You feel something, you know something… and then?
Doubt creeps in. You overthink. You ask for five signs instead of one.
And before you know it, that precise intuitive moment is buried under second-guessing, fear, and “what if I’m wrong?” But here’s the truth: your intuition isn’t broken—your self-trust is just bruised. And the beautiful thing about trust is… it can be rebuilt. Gently. One step at a time.
I found similarities in the recently released movie, How to Train Your Dragon. Your intuition may seem wild at first. But it’s not here to scare you. It’s here to lift you. Just as the dragon could not trust the human, and the human could not trust the dragon, it took some time to build a relationship of safety with each other again. Similar to the movie, which speaks to ancient history, where people and dragons lived in harmony with each other. We, too, used to live in harmony with our intuition. Our ancestors knew how to be in tune with nature and the cosmos. Our ancient intuitive abilities may feel gone, but they are simply waiting to be remembered, just like the Dragon and the Boy in the movie.
1. Recognize Your Inner Critic Voice
If there’s a voice inside that says, “You’re probably wrong”—guess what? It’s not your intuition. It’s your inner critic.
🔹 Insight:
Most of us internalized a critical voice early in life. It may sound like a parent, teacher, or society’s expectations—but it’s not your truth. The inner critic’s job is to keep you safe, not intuitive. Its favorite tools? Doubt, shame, and hesitation. The first step to reclaiming your intuition is recognizing that this voice isn’t your higher knowing—it’s your conditioning.
🔹 Action:
Give your inner critic a nickname. (Something silly, like “Judge Judy” or “Captain Overthink.”) When it speaks up, call it by name and say, “Thanks for trying to protect me, but I’ve got this now.”
Here is my blog post, ‘Unlock Intuitive Brilliance: The Battle of Mental Energy’.
2. Know the Feel of a True Intuitive Hit
Not every inner voice is intuition. But once you know how intuition feels… you’ll never forget it.
🔹 Insight:
True intuitive hits are fast, clear, and emotionally neutral. They often arrive like a flash of clarity or a quiet knowing. In contrast, anxious thoughts are noisy, repetitive, and emotionally charged. Learning the texture of a true hit is key. Many people second-guess because they’re misreading anxiety as intuition.
🔹 Action:
Write down 3 moments in your life where you just knew something—and you were right. Describe how it felt in your body. Use those as your blueprint.
3. Don’t Confuse Intuition with Fear
If it’s loud, panicky, or dramatic… it’s not your intuition—it’s your fear wearing a disguise.
🔹 Insight:
Fear is rooted in survival. It originates in the amygdala and is often future-focused: “What if this goes wrong?” Intuition, by contrast, is present-moment awareness. It’s clear, often quiet, and doesn’t spiral. The more trauma you’ve experienced, the louder fear can become—and the more practiced you’ll need to be in discerning the difference.
🔹 Action:
Next time you get a strong feeling, ask: “Is this expanding or contracting me?” Fear contracts. Intuition often brings a soft inner “yes,” even when it challenges you.
4. Practice the 10-Second Rule
Your intuition whispers the truth—but your doubt waits in the wings. Beat it to the mic.
🔹 Insight:
The moment you get an intuitive hit, a countdown begins. Within 10 seconds, your logical mind will likely step in with counterarguments. This is normal—your brain wants consistency and safety, not surprise. But when you act quickly—write it down, speak it, take a small step—you keep the intuitive channel open.
🔹 Action:
Try this for a day: the next time you get a hit, act within 10 seconds. Even if it’s small—like jotting it down in your phone—acknowledge it before the doubt rushes in.
5. Keep an “I Knew It” Journal
Every time you say, “Ugh, I knew it!”—your intuition is trying to build a resume. Let it.
🔹 Insight:
Your brain learns through repetition and reward. When you track intuitive hits—especially ones you dismissed—you start seeing your intuitive accuracy in black and white. This builds trust. It shifts you from “Maybe I’m just making it up” to “Wow, I really do know things.”
🔹 Action:
Start an “I Knew It” notebook or note on your phone. Each time you get a hit (right or wrong), record what you sensed, how it felt, and what happened. Review it weekly.
6. Heal the Need to Be Right
Your intuition doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs your permission to speak.
🔹 Insight:
Many of us learned that being right = being safe, lovable, or accepted. So we hesitate to trust intuitive nudges unless we’re 100% sure. But intuition isn’t about being “right” in the eyes of others—it’s about being in alignment with yourself. When you release the need for perfection, your intuitive channel expands dramatically.
🔹 Action:
Say aloud: “I give myself permission to be intuitive—even if I’m not always right.” Then smile. You’re human. And still deeply wise.
7. Ask, Don’t Assume
Intuition opens connection. It doesn’t have to close the door with judgment or assumption.
🔹 Insight:
Second guessing often happens when you’re intuitive about someone else—but don’t want to seem “weird” or be wrong. So you hold it in. But your intuition isn’t meant to isolate you. It’s meant to help you connect with curiosity. You don’t have to know—you can simply explore.
🔹 Action:
If you get a hit about someone, practice saying: “I’m picking up something—can I share it and you tell me if it resonates?” This builds trust and dialogue.
8. Ground Before You Receive
A scattered field leads to scrambled signals. Grounded energy gives intuition a clean channel.
🔹 Insight:
If your nervous system is dysregulated—too much mental chatter, emotional overwhelm, or exhaustion—your intuitive signals get noisy or unclear. Grounding helps bring your awareness into the present moment where true intuitive wisdom can be received without distortion.
🔹 Action:
Before any intuitive work, take 3 grounding breaths. Imagine roots from your feet into the earth. Even 60 seconds of grounding shifts everything.
9. Surround Yourself With Trust-Builders
If you’re always around people who question your intuition—it’s no wonder you do, too.
🔹 Insight:
We are wired for co-regulation. If you grew up being told you were “too sensitive,” “dramatic,” or “imaginative,” your intuitive knowing may have gone underground. Being around others who see and honor your intuitive gifts helps rebuild that part of you from the inside out.
🔹 Action:
Ask yourself: “Who helps me trust myself more?” Spend time with them. And if no one comes to mind, find a group or teacher (like you!) who does.
10. Spirit Doesn’t Test You—It Trains You
Your soul isn’t setting you up to fail. It’s coaching you to trust.
🔹 Insight:
Spiritual intuition isn’t a test—it’s a practice. If you miss a hit or second-guess yourself, you’re not being punished—you’re being shown how to recognize the voice of your soul more clearly. Every misstep is part of the refinement, not proof that you “don’t have it.”
🔹 Action:
Reframe your next second-guess moment with this mantra:
“I’m not failing—I’m training my intuition. Every step counts.”
Following the Top 10 Tips to STOP second-guessing yourself …
Can you still follow these guidelines and realize your second-guessing was a good and healthy sign that you should question yourself?
ABSOLUTELY! There are those times when your intuition is guiding you in a specific direction if you lived in a perfect world. However, there may be those times when you just need to contemplate a bit more, add a few more scenarios to bring greater clarity to your intuition before making a decision. Here is an article in Psychology Today that addresses those times when second-guessing might be a good thing.
