12 Examples of Intuition in Daily Life

How does intuition look in regular life? Maybe you have already used your intuition and didn't know.

Intuition has an important role in daily life decision-making. I believe most people frequently use it as a complement to logical thinking.

Here are some examples of intuition in daily life.

These are based on what I consider intuition, which may differ from others' definitions. I am open to dialogue and learn.

Intuition in Daily Routines

• Intuitive breaks. Our bodies usually tell us, with pain or discomfort, when it's time to relax a little and stop whatever activity we are doing. In my experience, when I avoid listening to these body cues, it's because I'm trapped in mental social pressures to comply with some kind of time management or goals.

• The right path. (a short anecdote) A friend's father once took "the wrong" bus at the bus station. He had to take another bus to go home. Days later, they found out the bus he missed had had an accident. Maybe this was a Divine coincidence, I don't know. But after knowing this, I always listen to hunches to change routes by no exact reason if I feel so, and relax when transportation schedules don't happen as planned.

Intuition in Personal Relationships

• Liar detector. The body knows. The body always knows! Expert liars know how to behave according to every situation and seem innocent. Instead of looking for clear and subtle signs of lying, I've concluded the best way to know if someone is lying is to feel my body. Lies usually make me feel some sort of discomfort.

• Feeling when something is off with a family member or friend. Sometimes, dreams talk to us. It's happened to me and to other close people, too. Some weeks ago, I dreamed about a family member who is usually healthy, being very ill. I phoned them, and I turned out, he had indeed been very sick that week. Another time, two different people dreamed the almost exact dream about me being in danger. (I took caution measures).

Intuition in Financial Decisions

• Intuitive financial decisions. Feeling when to invest in a particular opportunity or change direction towards something new can be an intuitive call. I have to say, when it comes to finances, I usually am super logical and decide things based on analysis and probability. However, the second decade of this century has shaken me to the point of reconsidering this and start using my intuition instead. There is a very interesting research I've come across about how some farmers have been using their intuition in their everyday lives.

• Recognizing scams. Common sense might be a good compass to avoid falling into financial fraud schemes; however, some scams are very sophisticated and use people with good intentions to trap others. When this confusion arises, it's good to opt for intuition. "Does the whole situation feel ok, or am I biased by the person who is offering me this 'opportunity'?" is a question we can ponder when dealing with a situation that feels shady.

Intuition in Health and Wellness

• Intuitive eating. Many people use this approach as a way to make friends with their relationship with food, especially after doing strict diets. I haven't tried this approach yet, but I'm sure there are valuable things to learn from this movement.

• Intuitive movement. Similar to intuitive eating, this approach listens to one's needs instead of engaging in rigid routines and expectations.

• Micro adaptations. When practicing physical disciplines, such as yoga, qi gong, dancing, or sports, sometimes we might feel like the suggested posture or movement doesn't feel right for us. Adapting it to our bodies, despite the social pressure of doing it as everyone has done it (sometimes for centuries), is an intuitive action.

• Acknowledging incompatibility. In the health realm, sometimes we are not compatible with a certain instructor/health professional, and we know it, no matter how good it is said that this person is in their area of expertise.

Intuition in Creative Pursuits

• Eureka! Many artists, scientists, and creatives usually have an "eureka" moment, or a sudden call from nowhere to do something. (Very frequently it comes after being relaxed, for example, after a walk in nature.)

• Intuitive performance. Performing on stage is a mixture of logically memorized patterns and an intuitive state, when intuition shines at its best. I firmly believe that in performing arts like theatre, dance, and music, the best way to go is to prepare with discipline and logic, but on stage, act intuitively and with the heart, and not rely exclusively in the "doing everything right" mindset. Talking by experience, focusing only on perfectionism brings the worst performances.

Final thoughts and recommendations

Acknowledging the ways we make decisions is a great way to recognize how we are using our intuition on a regular basis.

Using our intuition can improve our lives, since every decision we make may have a significant impact on our futures.

Books! 📗

The best way I've found to cultivate my intuition so far has been being p r e s e n t. Books on this topic I recommend are "On becoming an artist", by Ellen J. Langer, and "The Power of Now", by Eckart Tolle. The books don't explicitly talk about intuition, but somehow, practicing their principles has made me more intuitive.

What about you? Have you used your intuition and didn't know you did it? Do you usually make decisions on logic, or do you go for intuition?

Last Update: 30 Jun 2025.

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