Mini Mindset Tip: When the Nudge Makes No Sense—Go Anyway
Listening to your intuition doesn’t always look graceful. Sometimes, it looks like climbing into the wrong van.
Lately, I’ve been holding space for some powerful shifts during my 1:1 VIP Days—helping sensitive, intuitive people reconnect with their energy, restore clarity, and begin listening again to what their bodies and inner knowing already understand.
It’s reminded me how intuition so often speaks in small, quiet ways. Like a nudge. A flicker. A feeling that makes no sense until it changes everything.
Here’s one of those stories.
More than a few years ago, I followed a man across a plaza.
Well—sort of.
It was the opening day of an academic conference. I was a little dazed, probably under-caffeinated, and scanning the scene for familiar faces. I didn’t see my friends. But then I spotted a tall, handsome man walking toward a van and thought—that one.
Then came the inner voice:
“Get in that van.”
So I did.
Spoiler: it wasn’t a rom-com moment. Up close, the man was older than I’d thought—and very much not single. And the van? It was the Canada van—a shuttle full of mostly-unknown-to-me Canadian academics heading to dinner.
They welcomed me with mild surprise and warm curiosity. I stayed for the meal, made some connections, and thought little of it afterward.
But a few months later, I got a call: an offer for a faculty position that would bring me to Canada.
It was never really about the man.
It was about the moment.
That moment—of listening to something irrational but deeply right—quietly changed the trajectory of my life. It brought me to the country where I’d meet my husband, build a home, and grow into the version of myself who’s writing this to you now.
All because I heard something small… and chose to listen.
Intuition Isn’t Loud—But It’s Life-Shaping
Most people imagine intuition as dramatic:
A bolt of insight.
A psychic flash.
A dream that feels like prophecy.
But more often, it’s a whisper.
A flicker of knowing that makes no sense in the moment, but leaves you changed. It might tell you to leave early. Call someone. Say yes when logic says no.
Sometimes, it doesn’t reveal its purpose until years later.
And still—it’s worth listening to.
A Subtle Science
From neuroscience, we know our brains are pattern-recognition machines. Intuition draws on those patterns—not just from conscious thought, but from bodily memory, emotional resonance, and even collective experiences we can’t quite name.
From energy psychology, we know what we feel in the body often precedes what we can articulate with words. That “gut feeling” is more than a metaphor—it’s your enteric nervous system talking to your brain, your subtle body translating what your conscious mind hasn’t caught up to yet.
So yes, sometimes the voice says, “Get in the van.”
And no, it doesn’t always make sense right away.
Mini Mindset Practice: The Nudge Journal
This week, try tracking your intuitive nudges. Nothing fancy—just jot them down when they arise. Then check in:
Did you act on it?
If not, why not?
What happened next?
What patterns are emerging?
You don’t have to decode everything in the moment. This is about building trust with yourself—bit by bit, nudge by nudge.
I’ll be sharing more soon about ways to deepen this kind of connection—especially for those ready to clear the static, release old conditioning, and learn how to really listen.
But for now, just this:
When the voice comes…
Even if it’s weird.
Even if it’s inconvenient.
Try listening.
It might just be your future calling.
References
Gershon, M. D. (1998). The Second Brain: A Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine. HarperCollins.
Sadler-Smith, E. (2008). "The Role of Intuition in Decision Making: A Cognitive Style Perspective." Journal of Management Studies, 45(1), 1–22.