Why you should listen to your inner voice (and how to hear it better)

The Voice. You’ve heard people talk about it.

In fact, you hear the voice all the time. Telling you why you shouldn’t do things, why you’re not good enough, reminding you why you should be fearful, or causing you to agonise over your decisions.

The WRONG voice.

It’s not the one I’m talking about today. Nor, The Voice that turns buskers into recording artists (although I do like that Voice)

I’m talking about the inner voice – the voice of truth that is always trying to get you to listen. But you choose the other voice instead – the whiny, doubtful, fearful one. It’s louder and often makes more sense with it’s justifications and reasonings.

Always holding you back.

The true voice doesn’t.

It just speaks and pushes you forward. It doesn’t need to justify or clarify. It commands. But, it’s a peaceful and loving command, not one of an evil dictator.

If you’re tuned into it,  you know it’s not a voice to ignore. It’s taking you on a path that’s more suited to your dreams, more in tune with your purpose and offering you a ride that’s similar to a tube run down your favourite mountain river in summer – shaded by palm trees, and enough rapids for a bit of squealing fun, but not enough to tip you out and spill your glass of wine.

It removes angst

My life for the past six months has not been without its challenges or frustrations – don’t fool yourself that striving for a life devoid of this is the way to go. But, the edge of dissatisfaction, anxiety, and uncertainty is no longer there.

I don’t fret about decisions or whether I’m walking the right path or not. I trust tomorrow will sort itself out tomorrow. I’ve just got to take care of today.

I know I am because I’m only allowing that voice to guide me. I can look back now over the events of the past six months (actually much longer than that) and I can see how perfectly that river has flowed.

I’ve always known the power of my inner voice. If you joined my webinar recently and heard my money story, you know I invested successfully in property when I listened to it and failed miserably when I didn’t.

It’s also helped pull me out of my funk all those years ago when I lived in London and it ordered me to leave for sunnier shores in Dublin (You know I meant figuratively with that sunny Dublin thing!!) And my life drastically changed for the better.

Despite these flashing neon signs that listening to your inner voice is the way to go I struggled with doing so for many years.

I doubted myself, I hated myself, I distrusted the world, I believed in lack and fear, rather than abundance and inner strength.

It steers you back to right purpose

Lucky Bay, Esperance, Western Australia

These last six months have been an incredible awakening for me in finally accepting the inner voice as the strength that can be completely trusted. On August 10th, I’ll be speaking more about this with the lady, my spiritual mentor, who helped me move through this transformation. I’ll tell you more about that webinar and Belinda Davidson at the end of this post.

I have so many stories I can share about the lessons the road trip taught me; I’ll save them for future posts. For now, I want to share the journey to trusting my voice.

We’d just returned from our White House trip to Perth. I was exhausted, but it was also around the time I’d been doing work through Belinda’s course on my 8th chakra, which is all about discovering your purpose and letting go and trusting that voice.

The brakes suddenly came on and I knew the road trip was coming to an end. I spoke about my angst over it in this post, this post, and this post. I was conflicted because I knew it had to end, but I also didn’t want it to. I felt like I was failing and letting everyone down.

When you become aware of how your inner voice guides you, the different paths reveal themselves. One will seem unclear and frightening because it’s so new, and the other will look safer (because it’s the path you’re already on) but will be filled with road blocks and struggles.

Our safer path – the finishing of the road trip – suddenly started having lots of blockages. We thought we were going to be without a car, potential partnerships fell through, our money was running out, we were exhausted, we were struggling to cope with the growth of the business, I’d put on about 8 kilos, and we were all sick of traveling. Yet I understood that path and I felt like I was failing if I quit. So my weaker self tried to convince me to keep on going!

The other path was empty. I had no idea what future lay there, all I had was the voice saying this was the one. I had no idea why and I was scared to follow it. It was as if a brick wall was suddenly built in front of the safe path and there was no other option but to listen to that commanding voice.

That’s when you say, “I just have to do this… wish me luck.”

After the decision was made I just wanted to get home. We had partnerships in place with Tourism Queensland and NT Tourism. I was ready to cancel on them, hell I was ready to just fly home and be done. But, the voice clearly spoke, “You have to go to Uluru.”

We were effortlessly able to change our former arrangements to arrive a couple of months earlier than organised.

Uluru was where I found my spirit again. That beautiful rock spoke to me, I don’t even know in what language. It settled me back into my skin and I felt more assured with the path we were to go.

It guides you on your inner journey

I adore this quote I discovered today,

“Without new experiences, something inside (600 x 900)

Your travels and that voice are awakening you.

Your travels are rarely just about the amazing places you visit and people you meet. Its true power lies in the inner journey it takes you on. Your inner voice will guide you to the right lessons and experiences so you can evolve.

After Uluru, the voice again spoke that Burleigh was where we had to go. That brick wall came down that said, “No other option. This is where I’m going.”

Effortlessly, we found the perfect apartment, in a market where rentals are hard to find – and we were fussy with what we wanted. I don’t think there is a place more suited to our vibe than Burleigh.

So now, I know that voice is the only one to listen to. There is no more angst over decision making. I don’t often understand why I’m following the voice, but I don’t argue with it.

It saves you time and helps you create and serve

Because we’ve been here I’ve been able to complete so much work that I felt so compelled to create. The voice kept pushing me. I procrastinated on launching my 30 Day Money Cleanse for a year. I had one person who didn’t believe in allowed my doubts to find the excuse it needed to halt it.

But that voice persisted. And now I can clearly see why and how this journey for the past six months has unraveled to this point of purpose and trust. It also kept pushing me down these paths where I’d suddenly get the inspiration to try this, do that, listen to that, try this strategy. I felt a bit dizzy at times, but now I see all of it was helping me to prepare and create something worthwhile.

We’re only a few days into that course and I’m blown away by the transformations that are happening for the participants. As my VA said, “Wow, Caroline. I think people really need this.”

It was all created and guided by that voice.

It happens to me all the time when I write posts like this or my weekly email newsletter. That small, fearful voice likes to say, “You’re an idiot. Don’t publish that. No one wants to read this. They’ll think your coo coo.” But, that voice says, Do it. And I always get so many comments from people as to how my message has really helped them that day.

Learn to listen to that voice. It’s where your power lies. It’s where an effortless peace lives. It’s where you’ll find your strength, your purpose, your joy. It’s how you can best serve.

It protects you

You know that feeling you get around a certain stranger – it pulsates with warning, “Don’t accept that drink. Cut off the conversation and leave.” Using your intuition is the biggest way to protect yourself from danger.

Why do you think animals get the hell out of town before a Tsunami hits? They trust their senses that tell them to run.

We have the same inner intelligence.

I was recently looking at getting cute personalised luggage tags, but as I started filling out my address details, that brick wall quickly built itself, and a very strong voice said, “Stop. Don’t do it.”

I don’t like fear to run my life and love to have the opinion the world is not scary, but I closed the website down immediately. That inner voice spoke quite clearly that having that on my luggage, with the position that we are in, was not a smart, or safe move.

The other day I had to make a decision whether to support a “Friend” or attend something I knew would benefit our business and I was interested in. I was just about to go to the “should support friend” option when the voice built that wall, and said “No don’t. Go and learn instead.” It seemed so out of character with what I thought was the “right” thing to do, but I followed it anyway.

I discovered not long after that this so called friend had started a bitch conversation about me in a private Facebook group.

“Thank you thank you thank you inner voice for always protecting me.”

How to hear your inner voice better

It took me a long time to reach this point of trusting in the voice – years of introspection, of clearing, of studying, of reaching. I had to figure it out for myself. I’m hoping I can help make that a little easier on you with a few of these simple tips.

Meditate

Meditation sharpens your awareness skills. It helps you find stillness. The voice can be heard within stillness and presence. The more you practice quietening that noisy, fearful voice, the more you’ll hear the commanding voice that guides and protects.

Practice

I have a little task that I give in my 30 Day Money Cleanse to practice developing listening to your inner voice.

Step out for an hour (you might like to make this a whole day adventure) Leave the house with absolutely no plans. Tune into your feelings completely and allow them to tell you where to go. Do not resist any decision, do not wonder if it is the right one, just enjoy every step and follow where it takes you. So if it says go left, then go left. Be completely present and notice what happens and where you go. You might like to set an intention for the journey before you go. For example, on this unplanned trip I’d love to experience wonder or joy, or meet someone new or discover a new book, learn a new lesson etc. And just let go, don’t question or think about it, listen, follow, and enjoy the ride.

Get used to listening to that voice. When it throws down that brick wall and tells you only one option, follow it, and just trust. And then watch how everything unravels for you.

If you’re not sure, sit on it.

Instead of agonising over a decision, I push it to the side until I can hear the voice enough to know. Sometimes the voice – the inner intelligence just needs a little more time to evaluate the facts and put together the right plan for you.

It’s funny sometimes to see the reaction on people’s face when they ask me about something in the future, and I just answer, “I’m not sure yet.” There’s this kind of blank expectation that I’ll give them more. Reasoning. Deliberation. They’re trying to work out if I’ve comprehended what they’ve asked or even if I care.

I do, it’s just I don’t KNOW know the answer yet. Once it speaks I can say.

It sounds like I’m a bit crazy right? Waiting for a voice in my head to tell me what to do. We’re all doing that right? The truth is I’m not waiting for the voice in my head to speak- that’s the wrong voice. The true voice speaks through your gut. With strength and conviction that just can’t be ignored. It’s like suddenly my whole body speaks the message. Yes. Do this. Go here. Talk to that person.

That’s it. Messages. No justification or reasoning. No mind playing or confusion. No doubt or deliberation. Just do it.

Webinar with Belinda Davidson

I owe so much of my growth this past year, and learning to listen to my voice because of Belinda. I now know her personally, having ran into her at the local Burleigh farmer’s markets!! See – right place again! On the same day we met our chiropractic, Dr. Matt, who is healing all of us three mornings a week! Yes, the voice told me to go to the markets that day!

I’ve attended one of Belinda’s workshops, as well as doing her SOMM Level 1 course whilst on my road trip, and now have started her SOMM Level 2 course.

With our love for travel, soul homes and Red Hot Chili Peppers, we have a lot of similarities, which is one reason I’m excited to hang out with her AND you in this free webinar 

Belinda is also a modern mystic, an empath, a medical intuitive and a ghost activist. In other words, a fun and interesting person to know.

Travel helped her discover, and be okay, with her true self. We chat on the webinar whether she felt she was escaping and if escapism is a worthy path. We also chat about soul homes, chakras, and how to stay spiritual and grounded on your travels. Press play on the video above and share it with your friends!

In the meantime, I’d love to hear more about your inner voice. Can you hear it? Do you trust it? How does it help you?

28 thoughts on “Why you should listen to your inner voice (and how to hear it better)”

  1. I listen to my inner voice all the time, though some days the chatter in my mind of the tasks at hand make listening a challenge sometimes. Many times I go against its advice and I pay a price for that. Now I never question it. One of the times that my decision to shake it off landed me in hot water was when I was in high school. I was making plans to see a boy instead of going to class. I had it all figured out. Then that voice spoke. Not in a whisper, but in a voice so loud, I actually shook my head very hard to get it to stop saying, “Don’t do it!” Well, I did do it and my mother found out and I was restricted for 6 months and the only way I was to regain my freedom was to move out of her house and into to college. Oh, boy…. lessons learned.

    1. Oh wow. Great story (not great at the time) but it just goes to show how strong that voice can be and how often we can refuse to listen to it.

  2. I have registered for the webinar; it’s right up my alley! But I’ll be at work when the webinar is on. Will a recording be sent after the webinar?

    1. Absolutely! As long as you’re registered you’ll receive the replay. You’ll love it Kat. I’m so excited to be having this chat!

  3. I broke up when I thought I was supposed to be getting married because my inner voice said “this is not the one” and after months of struggles and self-healing, I finally was ready to forgive and let go, then emailed my ex an sincere message to wish him well. I met my soulmate the next day, he proposed the day after our kiss and we’re happily married now for 4 years (we were not young kids, we waited for each other for almost 40 years). We sync in every way, we meditate together daily and in my marriage I feel pure love and bliss, peace and love resides in our home, and when we don’t see things eye to eye, we’re able to work it out within minutes or before bedtime. I’m truly thankful for trusting my inner voice and am ready to learn to let it guide me on a daily basis. P.S. I missed the 30-day money cleanse, will you be hosting it again?

    1. Oh I have such goosebumps reading this Cath!! What an amazing story and such amazing courage to follow that voice. Yes. I will be doing the money cleanse again. Keep connected. October should be the month!

  4. Cat @ thatbettiething

    We-ell…where do I start….we decided to have a complete lifestyle change. Sold the house, moved to warmer climes and stayed with my father in law (in Burleigh Heads!!) while we waited for the house settlement. Turns out the bank lost our mortgage documents and title deeds and we got stuck staying in a 2 bedroom apartment on the 6th floor (father in laws apartment) with 4 kids under 6 including an extreme sportsman aged 2 who contemplated bungee jumping off the balcony to the pool several times. I say we, my husband a FIFO worker was there for one out of the 6 weeks my lovely father in law hosted us while we waited for the bank to sort it’s shit out. (Sorry for swearing). Finally with our money back and house settled etc we decided just to rent and get out of my father in laws space (for the record he was brilliant the whole time). Only the highway was being upgraded where we wanted to go and construction companies had rented EVERYTHING. I had also been offered an amazing opportunity too. But we couldn’t find anywhere to live. (Still with me??) everyone else said – move to that central qld town he flies into. All our gut instincts told us not to. Our doctor had told us the humid climate might be as bad for the 3 chronic asthmatics as the southern winter which we were trying to escape from. Husband was still up to a 6 hour drive away and I knew nobody for when I had to call the ambulance in the middle of the night. Anyways (sorry this is turning into an essay on how not to have a lifestyle change!!) I gave up my opportunity and we gave in. I loaded all four kids into the car and drove 1000 km North (husband back at work again). By Noosa, gastro had hit and I had 4 vomiting kids with the runs. Anyway. I made it. Turns out the doctor was right, the climate sucked and we had a very very sick kid, the other 2 weren’t so bad and the non asthmatic fine. But turns out the house was structurally unsound and we had to move out (this was a $520 a week rental I might add) Feeling a little homeless I drove all four kids all the way home to Tassie (2500km) with a 2 tonne trailer and the dog (no gastro) this time. Have been renting here and at first it felt great to be back among friends, but the gut started talking again. So….in 4 weeks time we’re back on the spirit trying again. Destination somewhere between Ballina and Noosa. Fingers crossed… We will listen to our inner voice this time….promise!!

  5. Great article Caz! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about it! Can’t wait to experience the ” experience exercice about listenning to my voice ”
    Have a great day!

    1. Dear Val,

      Before two month ago i shifted my room to somewhere ,i met a girl from different culture we walk we shop we eat together but we are best frnd ,she went home on vacation still did’t come.i here some voice and some image o her its so dangerous
      i don’t believe this its is happening with me why i am always 24/7 i listen some voice and i can feel smell something and listed particular voice why she choose me for this I donot know,when i am playing music after finish my song i listen a voice Wah Wah(good) why,I am unable to describe you be Coz its is out of control what can i do please tell and help me if you Reding my comment then Plz my no is +917838514469—Bishwajeet Das,,,India,,,Delhi Plz its urgent

  6. I am starting to tune in and listen . Take it to heart and do it. even though it seems like the craziest thing to do. I working on my business. I got completely stopped nothing was happening and my relationship ended. I followed my intuition ( I call her my best friend) I am learning its the little things that show up that say keep following what I tell you to do. I am hearing it more when I mediate or do yoga and then just times I dont expect it because its quite. For a while I felt resist because she kept telling me that my ex loves me still . He needs to heal and some other things. I thought am I crazy you know because he says otherwise. Actions well speak louder than words at moments. Its not easy but I am taking a stand for how I want my life to be created. Have a sustainable business that I help people around gluten intolerance and food allergies. I know i am needed it shows up. I am taking on owning that and when things pop up see if they are good opportunities for me. The voice. 🙂 I am following her on my ex now too. I feel calm and at peace since I listened. I know the actions will come to me that day on what to do. I dont need to figure out the how of it all. I know I have abundance in all areas of my life at this very moment. Its freeing you can be with anything and accept it and not resist it. The book ” the power of now” is amazing. I am looking at using this all areas. Money blocks are showing up so I am taking on looking and seeing what I need to let them go. Thanks for this and looking forward to the webinar.

    1. So awesome Connie. I’m sorry to hear about your relationship but it sounds like you have gained a lot of strength and are approaching it in the right way. I love how you said you feel calm and peace since you listened to that voice. I think that is the best way to know you’ve listened to the right voice. You might not like what it tells you to do, you might not understand it, but you just have this calm peace of knowingness that it’s the right thing to do and all will be okay. Sending you lots of positive vibes. You’ve got this!

  7. I absolutely believe in my inner voice. It has helped me so many times. In fact, my decision to move from a full-time job to a freelancer was also driven by my inner voice. I guess it’s the strength of every true person. As long as you are willing to listen to that commanding inner voice, it just puts everything at ease.

    1. For sure. IT’s not easy to listen to it as it’s often pushing us to do things that make us feel uncomfortable, but that’s the only way we grow. So it’s actually a very loving and supportive voice.

  8. I definitely agree with this, you have trust your instincts. However, it seems that people these days are very delusional and don’t know what their core instincts are- thanks for the post tough- quite an eye opener 🙂 x

  9. Hey Caz, what if you’re having trouble differentiating between the small voice in your head and the voice of your soul, or if one of them seems to be giving you conflicting advice?

    My heart has led me to keep giving chances to a person in my life who probably didn’t deserve them, and it ended up biting me in the ass. My rational mind tells me to be finished once and for all. But my heart is pulling me back to that person… While also calling me to pursue the travel lifestyle. (And I don’t think I can have both at the same time.) I haven’t had much success with meditation in the past. Is there a less frustrating way to tune in and figure out what is best for me?

    1. Oh the heart! That might be your problem. It’s really important that we do listen to our heart and follow it. But the heart can be too emotional. It craves love and only wants to follow that path. That’s so awesome. But, sometimes it doesn’t clearly see what’s really good for us. That’s probably why you keep getting pulled back to this person. The hearts too emotional, the mind’s too fearful and logical. You’ve got to tune into the gut. IT’s really hard to hear it, until you start tuning into it. We often ignore it because we don’t like what it tells us. It might not be the easiest path it’s telling us to walk upon and it might not be what our heart wants.

      When we were living in the US, and had just lost everything (nearly half a mill in assets) I found out I lost my job. I just knew it was coming. And I knew we had to move back to Australia. That inner voice told me. But, I didn’t want to listen to it, because my heart wanted to stay in America. A week or so later, a miracle happened and I could get my old job back. But that voice- the gut voice – was speaking so loudly that I just couldn’t accept. There was no rationalisation or debating from the voice. IT just very clearly spoke – go back to Australia. I was devastated. But, I did.

      Moving back to Australia was the single biggest thing that helped us transform our business to what it is now. If I stayed in the US we would probably be still broke and depressed.

      Notice the two words you used here – heart is pulling you back …. you’re feeling called to pursue travel. Follow the calling – that’s the true voice. It pulls you forward, not back.

      I would probably try guided meditation first to help you feel more at ease with it. I find it’s easier to quieten my mind when someone else is quietly keeping me focused.

      Hope that helps!

      1. I appreciate you taking the time to personally respond with such an insightful perspective, Caz! I hadn’t stopped to think that my heart and my gut could be giving me different signals… But that makes sense. And I absolutely think I’ve been resistant, even when I intuitively know what’s best, because it’s not what I want to hear.

        I’m already subscribed to Belinda’s newsletter. 🙂 But I’ll have to check out the guided meditations. Hopefully that will help my heart and gut to work together and provide more clarity. Thanks again!

  10. When my inner voice tells me something my brain instantly finds it to be the truth. With my now exgirlfriend that constantly let me knew when she was out of work. Bed etc stopped that behavior I knew something was off. My body told me she was cheating and I asked her and she exploded. The next day I found her and my best friend together. For a few weeks after that more stuff came out that my body told me but I actually dismissed. She made me feel crazy because of my inner voice. But I know who was truthful. Always trust myself.

  11. Hi Caz,

    Thank you for this deep post. I think we need to post more of this stuff in the travel blogging community.

    A great book I read about these 2 voices when I was 19 was Soul Without Shame – a guide to liberating yourself from the judge within. It really changed my life http://amzn.to/1hte6Ya

    <3
    Dave

  12. Usually, I am pretty good at listening to my inner voice and making decisions based on what it says. But lately, I’ve found that outer voices (you know, actual people who don’t support me) have been interfering with my own navigation system. The doubts are creeping in: maybe they’re right, maybe I am crazy, may I should just go get an office job and stop trying to be an entrepreneur, everything would just be easier if I settled down…

    So, this post comes just at the right time for me. A great reminder to sit down, stay calm, and reconnect to the person who knows me best – me.

    Thanks! Jane

  13. Hi Caz,
    It was interesting reading this today as I am trying to unravel a few mysteries surrounding my life at the present moment in time. I hear clearly the internal voice but it tells me many different things. My heart tells me it needs to care – so I’ve arranged to connect with a charity working with the wellbeing of the elderly. My creative self has told me it wants to commit to creating a coffee table book of photographs, which show scenes of the Southend Shoreline, my hometown. On a outing to a sports shop yesterday I heard an inner grumbling which guided me to the Walking Poles hanging on the wall and a deep desire began to burn to walk the Tongariro Crossing. Finally on this level, I felt as if a great giant was being awakened. But and the big but here, is that on the physcial level, I am needing to psychologically grow and develop, learn and and commit to something. I yearn to learn to speak Spanish and to keep firing those happy neural pathways to assist me in leading the life I want to live and leading me to my envisaged future. Yet uncertainty greets me everyday at present and for me, it is not a comfortable bed fellow! 🙂 It may be unfashionable but I long from some certainty in my life – then I can just get on with living because my mind is taken care of and has something to focus on-it has its purpose, whilst I have mine. Then I can just get on with what I am doing. Our relationship becomes symbiotic and mutalistic. That is freedom for me.

  14. verocious trips

    This is EXACTLY what I needed to read, Caz! It’s certainly the inner voice that helped me land this page. Amazing article – thank you!

  15. Dear Caz

    Amazing story It should be more told this type of tales.
    I’m one of yours.

    I don’t know the characteristics of my inner voice yet, but wanting for it!

    Regrets!

    with love,

    J

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