Keeping In Touch With Your Intuition: Lindsey Kaszuba On How To Get In Touch With Your Intuition And When To Trust Your Intuition When Making Decisions
An Interview With Maria Angelova
Become aware of fears, anxieties, and old habits that are keeping you stuck.
Intuition is defined as the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. Where does intuition come from? Can it be trusted? How can someone tune in to their intuition? To address these questions, we are talking to business leaders, coaches, mental health experts, authors, and anyone who is an authority on “How to Get In Touch With Your Intuition And When To Trust Your Intuition When Making Decisions.” As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lindsey Kaszuba.
Lindsey is a certified Health & Habit Coach who guides overwhelmed parents to eat, think and move healthier so they can be their most energized and confident selves. She focuses on integrating health and lifestyle through nutrition, movement, mindset, and healthy habits so you can live life on your own terms. Lindsey lives in New York City with her husband, two daughters (with another on the way), and Italian Greyhound. She loves skin-care, fashion, traveling, deep connections, her morning coffee, and all things self-development.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I’m a Florida girl- born and raised in a small town in Central Florida. I spent a lot of time outside, and I still enjoy going outside for a long walk and some fresh air. My dad is a fisheries biologist, so we naturally spent a lot of time on the water. I continue to feel instantaneously grounded and at ease when I’m on the water. I always had a dream to move to New York City- I loved the idea of a busy, energetic city where opportunities were everywhere. I moved to New York City the moment I finished college and am currently raising my family here.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My dad is one of the kindest people I know, and he always told me “treat others how you want to be treated”. I always try to be kind to others, not only because it’s polite but because it makes both of us feel good.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
My favorite book of all time is The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. It’s an incredible story about how no matter your circumstances you can do anything you put your mind to. It’s touching, emotional, and motivating.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Let’s begin with a definition of terms so that each of us and our readers are on the same page. What exactly does intuition mean? Can you explain?
We all have intuition, which is just our inner guidance system or gut instinct. It serves as a guide to help us stay focused on what feels right for us and steer clear of what doesn’t. But we tend to ignore it, which ultimately silences its voice. Our intuition exists to provide us with the information we need, not the information we want to hear.
I have greatly improved my life (and the lives of my clients) by learning to trust my instincts when making decisions. Instead of living by a set of rules, I can now eat, think, and move in a way that feels amazing. Our intuition is our best compass.
How would you define common sense? Are intuition and common sense related?
Common sense is wisdom that we’ve picked up over time. It’s the rationale behind our thoughts and our actions. I think the two are connected because common sense serves as the justification for acting on intuition, which is this inner knowing. I do believe that there is a fine line and that rational thought can interfere with our intuition.
How are they different from each other?
Intuition is an internal messaging system that tells you what you need. Common sense is practical knowledge that we’ve picked up over time.
What are the positive aspects of being in touch with your intuition? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?
When you are in touch with your intuition you trust what it’s telling you. The way you eat, think, move, and live your life can all be transformed by having trust in yourself. For instance, I used to believe that the way I ate and exercised would help me achieve the results I desired but I ignored my gut feelings and instead adhered to diet culture norms. Once I learned how to trust my intuition, I was able to eat and move in a way that made me feel energized and confident. I no longer feel overwhelmed by the idea of health, and I thrive in my routines since I am fully aware of what makes me feel my best.
Are there negative aspects to being guided by intuition? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?
I don’t think there are any drawbacks to following your intuition. When we disregard the signals and act in a way that we believe to be the most logical or will result in our desired outcome, negative consequences arise. When we let our intuition do its work, we can achieve the outcomes we want or probably something beyond what we could have imagined.
Can you give some guidance about when one should make a decision based on their intuition and when one should use other methods to come to a decision?
If you are in tune with yourself and can fully trust your intuition, I believe it can be your one true light. It can lead you everywhere you go. The more you rely on it and trust, the stronger it gets.
From your experience or perspective, what are some of the common barriers that hold someone back from trusting their intuition?
There are countless. For many of us, our intuition is silenced from an early age. I’m not sure about you, but my parents made me a member of the “clean plate club”; I had to finish what was on my plate before I could get up to leave the table. This tells us to trust the grownups around us rather than our own bodies. Other common barriers include fear and lack of confidence, both of which make us doubt ourselves.
Here is the central question of our discussion. What are five methods that someone can use to become more in touch with their intuition?
1 . Think about who you want to be.
Do you want to wake up each morning feeling rested as you head to the kitchen and automatically eat something that makes you feel great without even thinking about it? Visualize all the details of the person you’d like to be, because if you can see it, then you can eventually have it.
2 . Become aware of fears, anxieties, and old habits that are keeping you stuck.
When you address what’s coming up for you, instead of pushing it down, you can move through it. Our bodies develop tolerance to pain, fear, and trauma, and we start to trust other people more than we trust ourselves. You can reframe and rewrite your thoughts by becoming aware of the areas that are keeping you in old routines.
3 . Find what feels great to YOU.
You can start by asking yourself, “How does this make me feel?” This will help you identify the foods, exercises, thinking patterns, relationships with others, jobs, etc. that make you feel great.
4 . Start to create empowering, feel-good habits.
Once you start compiling a library of everything that makes you feel great, you can start relying on those things to establish healthy habits in your daily life. By taking small action steps each day you’ll create habits that actually last. Showing up consistently for the habits and routines that feel great to you is a game-changer; one that doesn’t rely on willpower or motivation but relies on your intuition and inner guidance. You start to genuinely trust yourself at this point.
5 . Build long-term strategies.
You’ll start to focus on building long-term strategies so no matter what life throws at you, you know what to eat, how to move, and how to calm your mind. Kids woke you up early? That’s ok, you workout anyways. Lunch with your team? That’s ok, you know what to order because you’re so tuned into your needs. Overwhelm creeping back in? That’s ok, you know what routines to keep up with. Aware of what you need and confident about what you want, you’ll have a new outlook, more energy, and a solid sustainable commitment to your health.
This is how my coaching program is structured. It all comes down to developing trust in yourself. Once you’ve done that, everything else is simple.
You are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I wish everyone could see how simple it can be to be healthy. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and by integrating health and lifestyle in a realistic and sustainable way, you can be your most energized and confident self.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
Melissa Wood-Tepperberg. I admire the way she handles herself, raises her kids, and has grown her business. We actually seem to have a lot in common when it comes to our worldviews and personal development paths. She is truly a ray of sunshine, and after meeting her in person, I secretly wish we could be best friends 😉
How can our readers further follow your work online?
If you’re interested in exploring working with me my website is a great start — https://www.lindseykaszubahealth.com/ and I’ve got lots of content on Instagram you may find helpful too — https://www.instagram.com/lindseykaszubahealth/
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.
Keeping In Touch With Your Intuition: Lindsey Kaszuba On How To Get In Touch With Your Intuition… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.