What To Do When Your Mind Says YES But Your Intuition Says NO

A few months ago I went to check out a preschool for my son. It is a highly sought after Spanish-immersion preschool. We were advised to get on the waiting list before he was even born, which we did. So I was curious to go investigate firsthand when they held an open house.

When I entered, my heart sank. It was dingy and cluttered. There were fluorescent lights. The colors felt off. Ugh.

My mind said, “Well, it’s supposed to be such a great school, it can’t be as bad as all that.” So I stuck around for a bit to hear what the teachers had to say.

They talked about how there were “only” 16 kids in a classroom with two teachers. They lauded their “great” food that the kids loved, but never mentioned any vegetables in describing what they served.

My mind said, “They say it’s great food.”

My heart said, “That doesn’t sound so good to me.”

Then I went to look at the classroom and heard a parent saying to a teacher “Wow, this is such a great space!”

My mind said, “Everyone else is acting like this is great, it must be great.”

But my heart said, “It IS? REALLY? Are you SERIOUS? Ugh. I’m supposed to bring my precious, beautiful, radiant son HERE?”

The clincher came next. The teacher was talking about how they staged the kid’s arrivals at the beginning of the school year so that they would be able to adjust better. “Some kids,” she said, “have a harder time. But it’s usually the parents who aren’t ready to let go yet,” as she looked pointedly at me clutching my son to my chest.

Time to go!

I felt so thrown off when I got home, and had to do a little quick self-coaching to get back on track. “Just because everyone else likes it, doesn’t mean it’s good for me or our son,” I told myself. “If it doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t matter if we’re 5th on the waiting list, or if it’s the most affordable school of it’s kind. He’s NOT going there.”

My mind really threw my intuition off. It wanted to second-guess my reactions and talk me out of them. It wanted me to conform, buy in, and go along. My mind wanted to listen to all the should’s and supposed to’s. It wanted me not to make waves, but to fit in. And I’m TRAINED not to buy in to this kind of stuff.

What astonished me was the power and subtlety of the messages from the other people and staff. Clearly, there was a Right Way and a Wrong Way. My mind wanted to conform with the Right Way and to avoid the Wrong Way. Yikes! It was a powerful reminder to me to ALWAYS check in with my inner self about my own sense of rightness, regardless of what other people have to say or what they think. As empathic sensitives, we have to stay aware and conscious to keep from being swept up into other people’s perspectives.

So the bottom line, when your mind says yes, and your intuition says no, your intuition wins. No contest.

What stories do you have to share about your mind saying yes and your intuition saying no?