Intuitive Intelligence: Do You Have It?

You may encounter a person and at the time you’re not sure whether they’re trustworthy or not. You might make a mistake on occasion, but you’re usually dead on. Do you have some kind of gift? Learn more about what intuitive intelligence is.

Reviewed and approved by psychologist Valeria Sabater.

Written by Valeria Sabater

Last update: 27 May, 2022

For many people, far from being a gift or a skill, having intuitive intelligence is something that seems very unscientific or even supernatural. It’s important to understand, however, that psychologists have been studying intuition for years.

Books like “Educating Intuition” by Robin M. Hogarth or “Intuitive Intelligence: Why We Know What We Know” by Malcolm Gladwell provide excellent examples that highlight the importance of this dimension.

A person with intuitive intelligence is able to hear the voice of their subconscious, so to speak, to arrive at faster and more useful answers. Far from being a “magical” art, it’s a logical aspect of your daily life that’s well worth developing.

We’ll give you all the information you need in today’s article.

Intuitive intelligence: keys for developing it

It’s a common misconception that human intuition is restricted to the brains of women. This is not true as both men and women have this ability.

The only difference is that women often listen more closely to their inner voice, their hunches. Women tend to establish a more intimate bond with their subconscious.

A curious fact that you’ll no doubt be interested in, however, is that many men use their intuition without even realizing it. According to Daniel Goleman, an expert in emotional intelligence:

• Stockbrokers make decisions in just a few seconds. With little time to analyze all the data, they’re driven by their “instincts,” and their intuitive intelligence is merely the automatic response of their own experience.
• Doctors, psychiatrists, and other professionals often make use of their intuition because it allows them to be able to recognize something subtle based on their stores of knowledge.

Let’s see how you can develop your intuitive intelligence a little more.

What is my intuition?

No doubt this has happened to you. You’ll encounter a person and at the time, you’re not sure whether they’re trustworthy or not. You might make a mistake on occasion, but you’re usually dead on. Do you have some kind of gift?

• Absolutely. You’ve had hundreds, thousands of experiences throughout your life that have caused you to learn things and draw conclusions, even without being conscious of them.
• Your brain stores and classifies images, sensations, smells, and other information so deeply that it gradually shapes what we know as intuition, but it’s really part of who you are—your identity, that allows you to provide quick answers to very specific questions.

Should I learn to trust my inner voice?

At this point you might be wondering whether or not it’s a good idea to trust your intuition. The answer is yes.

Intuitive intelligence allows you to come to conclusions that are in harmony with your own identity, which defines who you are. Anyone who ignores their intuition is ignoring himself or herself.

Let’s take a look at an example. Your family suggests that you accept a particular job. It might provide you with a more secure financial future, but your gut feeling tells you that you won’t be happy.

The rational part of you, on the other hand, argues that more money equals a better life. In this case, what should you do?

• Listen carefully to your intuition. It’s directly tied to your emotions, your experiences, and your identity.
• After you listen to your intuition, try to focus on the situation in a more rational way: Why would I choose a job that I know won’t make me happy? Your intuitive intelligence has already given you the answer.

Think “zen”

Let’s invoke Daniel Goleman again. According to him, the heads of large corporations (like Google or Facebook) recommend that their employees “think zen.” It’s based on the following:

• When you need to find the right answer to something, listen to yourself.
• To think zen means that you must first reach a state of deep calm, putting aside your pressures, stress, limiting thoughts, and anxieties. Only then can you tap into your intuition.
• Once you connect with this deep and personal essence, with that inner voice, allow yourself to connect again to the outside world—but only those aspects that are needed in order to make an innovative, original, and creative decision.

As you can see, intuitive intelligence can be quite useful in your day to day life. It lets you find more balanced solutions according to your needs and personality.

The rational and logical approach sometimes sets aside those aspects that are essential for your emotional and personal growth. That’s why it never hurts to make use of both of them: your intuition and logic.