Ego vs. Intuition: Learning How to Identify Your Inner Voices

How many times, when faced with a decision or dilemma, have you been told to just follow your gut? Go with your intuition? All the time! That’s because it’s truly awesome advice. Problem is — it’s easier said than done. 

Here’s why: Your intuition isn’t the only voice talking to you. The other speaker in your mind is your ego and it’s quite disruptive. If it were in your classroom, you’d have to move its desk right up front next to yours. And because your ego has such a dominant monologue running, your intuition can easily get lost in the noise. 

The good news

It’s absolutely possible to learn how to distinguish the two. Once you know what to look for, you can begin to identify if you’re listening to the agenda of the ego or the spiritual purity of intuition. And once you master this, you’re well on your way to achieving the confidence and peace of mind that can only come from truly letting intuition guide your choices and your actions. 

Your ego

Ok. So first things first: get quiet and just listen. Soon a voice will start in. It will be familiar. It’s probably what you’ve been thinking is your intuition all along. It’s not. That bold rambling in your head is ego. You can tell because it started talking first. 

Your ego’s main job is to protect you — mentally and physically. It’s a powerful job. But because ego is largely influenced by the world in which we live — our past experiences, our hurts, and our fears feed our ego until it becomes too powerful. 

When so much of your thoughts are governed by this overfed bully, it’s not serving to set you on the right path. In fact, it’s doing everything in its power to hold you back. The ego is afraid. It tries to keep you safe by shutting down anything new or different. It spins a web of “what ifs.” It’s controlling and bossy and manipulative.

Your intuition

Intuition, on the other hand, is everything your ego is not. It is quiet. Often silent. It may come to you in a strong physical sensation in your stomach (hence the term “go with your gut”) or may feel like tingly energy in your hands or at the nape of your neck. 

Your intuition is loving. It’s a gentle and kind nudge toward peacefulness and positivity and warmth. With intuition, you just “know” something. It doesn’t need to make sense. It doesn’t need a logical explanation. It’s just a confidence that you feel, backed by the wisdom of the universe. 

And the interesting thing about intuition is that it is always there and available to guide you back to your highest self’s greatest purpose. You just need to know how to quiet your ego long enough to hear its message. 

The reallocation of power

While ego is never going to go away completely, recognizing it for what it is will automatically take its power away.

Here are a few sure-tell signs that your ego is at work. 

• Fear – If your inner voice is speaking in a fearful or anxious way, you can bet it’s ego. Intuition does not come from a place of fear.
• Scarcity – When you feel insecure, lacking, and have a scarcity mindset, it’s driven by ego. Intuition is about abundance, confidence, and fulfillment.
• Change – Fluctuating ideas, changing viewpoints, inconsistent self-talk — these are characteristics of ego. Intuition is steady. 
• External – Your ego tries to boost itself up by amassing more on an external level. Intuition needs nothing more — it’s divine.  
• Justification – Ego backs up its decisions with a laundry list of reasons.  Intuition gives you just one simple answer. No explanation needed. 
• Judgment – If your inner voice speaks in judgment or comparison, it’s definitely ego. Intuition knows only love. 

Once you grow accustomed to deciphering the source of that inner voice, you’ll notice that your intuition becomes more noticeable. Louder. And it is in this volume that you’ll find a clear-cut path to your ultimate purpose, your greatest fulfillment, and a profound sense of peace.