Learn how to tell the difference between anxiety, which often holds us back, and intuition, which can be our guide!

This morning, during my habitual social media scroll (a habit I swear I’m attempting to break), I stumbled upon something that completely shifted my perspective. I was actually a bit surprised I hadn’t realized it sooner. Though perhaps it’s the result of growing up in a society that doesn’t teach us all that much about our emotions or how to handle them.

I was watching a reel of a female traveler who decided to cut her solo camping trip short. One of her reasons involved being surrounded by solo male campers, along with an unsettling feeling she couldn’t shake. Instantly, my mind began racing through potential scenarios that would undoubtedly cross my thoughts in her shoes. As I delved into the comments, one in particular caught my attention.

Anxiety vs Intuition

A woman, who works professionally to empower others to cultivate inner confidence and tune into their instincts, shared a valuable insight. She wrote, “The way to separate your anxiety from your intuition is to listen to the kinds of stories your subconscious is telling you.”

Simple… but profound!

Basically, our anxiety loves to tell us all kinds of elaborate, scary stories. Monsters! Serial Killers! Mountain lions! Oh my! Our anxiety wants to prepare us for all sorts of scenarios by feeding us stories.

On the other hand, our intuition gives us very clear directions. DON’T go over there, DON’T stop here, DON’T camp in this place. Intuition is a feeling, not a story. It’s clear and direct, and it won’t feed you unnecessary information.

This led me to another realization… when I let my anxiety run the show, I’m missing out on listening to my body’s genuine feelings to guide me. Plus, because I hate feeling anxious, I’ll try to suppress all the anxious feelings and end up suppressing all risk assessment. But risk assessment is what keeps us safe. Tuning in to our intuition allows us to make evidence-based decisions that are grounded in logic and reason!

I hope you’ll join me this year in learning to move past fear and anxiety and reconnect with intuition. Together we will work through those stories our anxiety loves to tell us, and discover how to become a confident, independent traveler!

Do you struggle to differentiate between your anxiety and your intuition? Have you found any tricks that help? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Upcoming Adventures…

The first stop (of what will hopefully be many) on my solo adventures for 2024 is Puerto Rico! Crazy to think I’ll be heading there in less than a month, and it’s the perfect opportunity to begin calming my anxiety and tuning into my intuition. I’ve already begun documenting my Puerto Rico travel planning and would love for you to follow along as the adventure unfolds!

*March 2024 Update*

My next solo adventure is coming up in under a month. I’m so excited to be heading to…. Sedona, Arizona! Can’t wait to enjoy a bit more warmth, sunrises on the red rocks and more solo adventures. If you’d like to come along for the ride, follow me on Instagram @rileyeloise (posts on the blog tend to be a few weeks behind the adventure)!