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We’ll talk more about NordVPN at the end
of the video but for now let’s get on with

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how to listen to your own gut feelings from
the philosophy of Carl Jung.

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Carl Jung once said ‘Intuition is perception
via unconsciousness.’

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Your gut feelings or intuitions are entirely

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unique to you and can say a lot about who
you are as an individual.

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Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, delved extensively
into the workings of the unconscious, offering

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insights that can help us better understand
our intuitions and ourselves.

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Jung’s most famous theory is ‘the individuation
process.’

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Individuation is the art of learning how to
recognize your inner and most unique attributes,

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desires, goals, strengths, and weaknesses.

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The most vital practice within this process
is the exploration of the unconscious. 

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A part of the unconsciousness is what Jung
called ‘the shadow’ - this contains all

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the aspects of yourself that you try to push
down and deny, the attributes that you try

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to pretend you don’t have, even to the point
of convincing yourself.

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Examples of such traits are explosive anger,
jealousy, envy, greed, pride, laziness, vanity,

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and more.

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But suppressing or ignoring these traits doesn’t
make them go away - rather, they grow and

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fester in the shadows.

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This is the cause of sudden outbursts, emotional
blowups, snapping at others, unwanted thoughts,

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unfairly blaming others, and more.

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In other words: they could be the source of
your less desirable intuitions or gut feelings.

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Another highly influential source of intuition
are your unconscious archetypes.

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Archetypes are part of the collective unconsciousness:
a form of unconsciousness shared by all human

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beings.

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Jung was of the opinion that certain parts
of one’s personality and traits are present

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from birth, only waiting to develop, and that
is the reason for all similarities between

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people across cultures, time, and space.

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They are the natural tendencies in our minds
that help us understand and react to the world

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around us.

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An example of a Jungian archetype is ‘The
Caregiver:’ the human urge to take care

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of one another. 

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Jung’s teachings on the unconscious and
archetypes are vital to understanding your

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gut feelings, and how getting to know and
learning to listen to those gut feelings can

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improve your life. 

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Which is why in this video we’re going to
talk about how to listen to your gut feelings

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from the teachings of Carl Jung.

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Get To Know Your Shadow and Your Archetype
Jung says  ‘Intuition is not mere perception,

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or vision, but an active, creative process
that puts into the object just as much as

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it takes out.’ 

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You can get to know your intuitions by getting
to know your unconsciousness - by analyzing

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your shadow, by working on your individuation
process.

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You can do this by utilizing self-reflection,
meditation, analysis of dreams, fantasies,

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urges, and your own behavior.

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For example, you can keep a dream journal,
in which you write what  you remember from

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your dreams as soon as you wake up in the
morning.

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Dreams can tell you a lot about what was going
on in your head before you went to sleep,

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such as your worries, fantasies, desires,
fears, and so on.

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If it turns out that you carry a lot of worry
with you, this might affect your shadow and

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thus your intuitions.

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You might get the sudden urge to act tougher
than you are to hide your insecurities, for

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example. 

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Another very standard but very effective way
to get to know your intuitions is to simply

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reflect on how you felt, acted, and made your
decisions on any given day.

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Regularly reflect and ask yourself questions
such as, ‘Why did I make this decision?’,

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‘Is there anything I wanted to do instead?’,
or  ‘What did I feel in the moment?’.

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You can practice reflection at scheduled times
or whenever you have time, and you can do

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so by either thinking about it, or even better
write about it, otherwise known as journalling.

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In this way, you examine your shadow.

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Getting to know the shadow is a difficult
and never-ending, yet incredibly rewarding

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process.

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When you get to know what it is that you push
away, you get to know what drives you the

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most - and thus, what it is that forms your
intuitions. 

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Another incredibly important part of the unconscious
that influences your gut feelings, are the

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collective archetypes.

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It’s crucial to identify which archetypes
you can find within yourself.

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Examples of the archetypes and the kinds of
intuitions that come to these types of people

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are the following: 

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The Hero
The hero is a courageous fighter who believes

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that as long as they work or try hard enough,
that they can achieve anything.

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Their intuitions would be rooted in stubbornness,
faith in their own abilities, and perhaps,

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even arrogance. 

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The Caregiver
This is an archetype that almost cares more

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about others than themselves.

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Their intuition is to think of others before
thinking of oneself, and their gut feeling

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is often to say yes. 

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The Creator 
The creator is a very artistic and creative

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type.

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Their gut feelings are often out there, but
not in a bad way: they have a talent for quickly

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thinking of the most creative solution to
a problem. 

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The Rebel
This type of person is someone who likes to

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make their own rules and ignores limits.

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Their intuitions are often extreme, destructive,
and on the far end of the spectrum. 

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The Trickster
The trickster is a joker who mainly seeks

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out enjoyment and good times.

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Whenever they get into trouble, their gut
feelings would include joking around, bargaining,

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and playing with the situation they’ve found
themselves in. 

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The Sage
The sage finds honesty extremely important.

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They’re the type of person who always tends
to seek out the truth and be honest before

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anything else. 

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And finally 
The Ruler

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The ruler is someone who feels most at home
in a leadership position and who strives for

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control.

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Their gut feelings are influenced by this
desire: they are most often alert when they’ve

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got opportunities to grow their control and
their intuitions lead them to greater positions

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within their life, society, or company. 

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Doing research on the Jungian archetypes and
trying to determine which ones you see the

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most in you can tell you a lot about what
types of intuitions you usually get.

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When you know yourself well - and, for example,
realize that you often act as a caregiver

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- you’ll start to identify gut feelings
that result from this archetype much more

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quickly.

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It’s important to know that you can outgrow
archetypes and grow in to new archetypes when

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you think of this.

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Moreover, Jung identified two types of intuitions:
introverted and extroverted.

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Introverted intuition focuses on rational
thinking and recognizing patterns, while extroverted

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intuition is about exploring new possibilities.

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Introverted intuition looks inward for information,
like solving riddles or predicting the future

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based on current clues.

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Extroverted intuition seeks outside the box
ideas and solutions, often coming up with

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creative solutions effortlessly.

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So for every gut feeling you’ve managed
to identify, you can try to figure out if

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it was introverted or extroverted.

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What information was it based on?

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For example, if you had an intuition not to
take a certain offer, is it because it seemed

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sketchy, or because you’ve heard something
bad about the person offering it?

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The former reasoning is introverted - based
on the offer itself - and the latter is extroverted

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- based on outside information.

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This way you can find out whether your intuitions
are more often introverted or extroverted,

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and how you can use that to your advantage.

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You can also learn to improve either of the
two kinds of intuitions, as we’ll explain

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later. 

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Your personality, unconsciousness, and intuitions
are ever changing.

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Thus, your self-analysis should be permanently
ongoing.

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By paying attention to your subconscious,
shadow, behavior, feelings, and archetypes,

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and by analyzing all your gut feelings in
hindsight, you’ll manage to get to know

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exactly what kinds of intuitions pop up in
your head from time to time, and where they

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come from. 

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2.

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Remove What Blocks Your Gut Feelings 
According to Jung ‘‘We cannot change anything

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until we accept it.

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Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.’’

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Even when you know what your gut feelings
can look like, you might find yourself unable

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to act; recognition isn’t enough for action.

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Individuation is more than simply getting
to know yourself: it also includes accepting

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yourself and then integrating all parts of
yourself - thus creating one whole. 

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You might have found out that you have helpful
introverted gut feelings as a result of a

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certain archetype, but you could also have
conflicting intuitions from the shadow.

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You could even have helpful unconscious gut
feelings from certain aspects of yourself

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that you push away that are then blocked by
your archetype.

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Fore example, imagine someone who’s very
trusting and optimistic, which is wonderful,

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except for when they let people start taking
advantage of them.

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This might be the result of an archetype called
‘The Innocent.’

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Now imagine that this same person has some
distrust or fear in their shadow, which they

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unconsciously suppress.

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These ‘negative traits’ could be a useful
source of accurate gut feelings when people

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mistreat you.

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So when somebody ends up selfishly using this
person, the person could have a gut feeling

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coming from their shadow traits that identifies
that this is happening, but the trusting intuitions

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from the innocent archetype override that
instinct.

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In other words: if you embrace your innocent
archetype but reject your more ‘negative’

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traits, that archetype will always block the
intuitions coming from the shadow, no matter

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how helpful they could be.

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And the same is true the other way around:
if you embrace distrust but none of your more

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empathetic or caring archetypes, you’ll
become someone who never learns to trust or

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lean on someone else.

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So how do you make sure that none of your
gut feelings are blocked?

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According to Jung, the way to individuation
is by integrating your conscious and subconscious. 

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Instead of being two separate sides of yourself,
you should be able to be optimistic and trusting

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without being naive or blind.

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This can only be done when you accept all
parts of yourself. 

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This, of course, is much more difficult than
it sounds.

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Getting to know and accepting all parts of
yourself is frightening.

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For example, the idea that you’re actually
a deeply jealous person, or that you’re

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secretly selfish, or a bit of a liar - you
probably can’t imagine embracing these parts

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of yourself. 

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However, every ‘bad’ trait has a positive
side to it.

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Fear and distrust can protect you from dangerous
situations, anger can make you more assertive

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and help you advocate for yourself, jealousy
or selfishness can be an ingredient for ambition,

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et cetera.

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Even in the example just described, with intuitions
from the shadow being overtaken by intuitions

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from an archetype, the shadow played a helpful
part.

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And, moreover, it’s impossible not to have
any negative traits.

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The reality of the situation is: the shadow
is only frightening and unhelpful when it’s

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unacknowledged and unaccepted.

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Accepting it is the best way to let it help
and benefit you. 

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So instead of denying or working against traits
you’d rather not have, ask yourself: in

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what situations have these traits helped me?

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In what situations could they help me?

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How could I balance my traits?

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Your shadow side and archetypes are here to
teach you.

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They are there to show you who you are, why
you are the way you are - and how that could

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be a good thing.

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All shadow and archetype traits are traits
that could be positive, if only you use them

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right.

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So question yourself, think of how to use
them right, and never ignore or push them

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down. 

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3.

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Cultivate the ability to have Your Gut Feelings
In the words of Jung ‘Intuition doesn’t

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say what things mean but sniffs out their
possibilities.

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Meaning is given by thinking.’ 

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By daily, weekly, or even only monthly exercises,
you can sharpen your mind and cultivate the

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ability to have quicker and more beneficial
intuitions.

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Intuitions, as said before, are the result
of our personal and collective unconsciousness.

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So by exploring your unconsciousness in different
ways, you train your intuitions.  

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A few activities that can help you cultivate
your introverted intuitions are the following: 

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Try and view your problem from different perspectives;
someone who thinks very differently from you,

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your future self, a character from a movie
- or whoever else you think could be helpful.  

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Meditate and try to examine your inner world.

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One of the most important aspects of meditation
is to witness your thoughts as if you were

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an outsider: you acknowledge them, and then
let them go.

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By doing so you can’t distract yourself
or get lost in unimportant matters, but you’re

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still thinking.

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And this way, eventually some thoughts may
arise that seem entirely new and original

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to you.

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Thoughts that you would never have had otherwise. 

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Make art.

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Carl Jung believed that things like drawing,
journaling, metaphors, and storytelling could

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help you come to new insights.

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If you have a certain problem, it might help
to draw the situation or write a fictionalized

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short story about it.

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This creates both a certain distance and overview
of the situation that could help you reconsider

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it in an entirely new way.  

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A few activities that can help you cultivate
your extroverted intuitions are the following: 

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Expose yourself to new situations often.

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Try things that you’ve never done before,
speak to people outside of your own social

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circles, and ask others for their opinions
more often.

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Doing so will give you a whole range of new
ideas and perspectives that you would never

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have known existed otherwise.

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00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:36,670
Broadening your horizons means broadening
your mind - which means that you have way

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more knowledge to draw from if you ever have
a problem that needs solving. 

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Again, make art.

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Mindmapping, for example, is an excellent
way to try and think outside the box.

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By brainstorming on paper, you challenge yourself
to fill the page with as much information

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as possible and thus try and exhaust all the
knowledge you might have.

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Try to relate as much as you can to your current
problems, and you’ll find that the paper

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tells you more than you ever knew before. 

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Make a list of ideas and try to combine them,
even if they initially don’t seem to go

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well together.

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Examples of making new combinations like that
could be using two opposing colors in a drawing

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and trying to make it look good, using two
weird ingredients in a recipe and trying to

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make it taste good, using two items of clothing
that don’t fit together and trying to make

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it work as an outfit.

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But aside from this kind of daily practice,
it might also help to try and combine various

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aspects of all the solutions to a problem
you can think of, and use that as a basis

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to create an entirely new solution that’s
the best of all worlds.

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Of course, none of the insights you attain
thanks to these activities are gut feelings

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or intuitions - after all, they didn’t come
to you spontaneously.

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However, all of these activities serve as
a sort of training for your mind.

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The more insights, knowledge, and ways of
effective thinking you have, the more your

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mind starts to use all of that unconsciously.

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If you teach yourself to think outside the
box, your gut feelings might start to come

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from somewhere outside that box, too.

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Other activities that Jung recommended are
set times a day for reflective journaling,

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engaging with nature, or spending time now
and then acknowledging your bodily sensations.

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All of these practices can help to sharpen
your mind, reveal more of your unconscious,

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and thus cultivate your intuitions.

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The more you work on your mind, the more helpful
your gut feelings become.

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4.

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Don’t Get Lost In Your Gut Feelings 
In our final quote from Jung for this video,

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he says ‘Intuitives are often very poor
because they never wait for the harvest.’

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Finally, a tricky part: there will always
be unhelpful gut feelings.

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This has been discussed before, when we talked
about how positive gut feelings can be blocked

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by more negative instincts, but sometimes
we just have an unhelpful gut feeling, with

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no better alternative in sight.

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Our unconscious houses lots of attributes,
not all of them pretty, and they can manifest

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in the form of obstructive or harmful intuitions
- so just because you’ve learned how to

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act on your gut feelings doesn’t mean you
should constantly do so. 

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For example, anger can result in helpful intuitions,
but also very destructive ones too, such as

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the urge to isolate yourself or to alienate
people.

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And the caregiver archetype can give you some
wonderful intuitions, but you also have to

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ignore your own needs and feelings in favor
of those of others.

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Thus, intuitions are not something to blindly
give in to. 

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One of the most difficult things about your
gut feelings is mistakenly giving in to one

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that ends up being unhelpful.

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Another risk is when an intuition does seem
beneficial, but there’s an alternative that’s

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even more beneficial.

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In determining the legitimacy of a gut feeling,
rational thinking is paramount.

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What is your gut feeling telling you, and
does it make logical sense?

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What are the benefits and downsides of your
gut feeling?

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You can also have a situation in which the
most rational-seeming option doesn’t feel

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right.

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In that case, think further.

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Why doesn’t it feel right?

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What is it about this option that makes you
feel hesitant?

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If you can’t seem to think of it, then try
other ways of tapping into that unconscious

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feeling: try meditation, drawing, writing,
or mindmapping to name a few options.

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The answer might come from an unexpected corner
- but don’t make a decision unless you understand

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why you’re making this decision.

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For example, imagine that you get offered
a new job that seems good and has better pay,

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but it doesn’t feel right.

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After some inward searching, you might find
out why: maybe you’ve once heard something

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pretty bad about the company, maybe there
was some suspiciously ambiguous phrasing in

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the offer letter.

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00:21:28,490 --> 00:21:33,360
Both are potential red flags for your future
circumstances in this job, and realizing this

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could help you avoid a bad situation altogether.

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00:21:36,549 --> 00:21:43,400
But maybe your ‘bad gut feeling’ turns
out just to be anxiety and insecurity, because

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you’re not sure you’re worthy of the job.

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00:21:45,980 --> 00:21:51,029
In that case you should try to fight this
feeling and turn your anxiety into a challenge

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00:21:51,029 --> 00:21:55,160
for yourself: accept the job and see how you
do. 

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00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:59,030
Then, there is the case of alternatives.

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Maybe your intuition tells you to do something
that also makes logical sense and you make

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00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:05,460
the decision just like that!

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00:22:05,460 --> 00:22:09,270
This, however, is something Jung discourages.

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00:22:09,270 --> 00:22:14,640
Even if it seems like the best option, it
might not be - there might be new, other options

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00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,710
out there that your intuition didn’t focus
on.

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00:22:17,710 --> 00:22:23,320
So whenever you’re about to make a decision,
give yourself a little time to think it over.

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00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,780
Again, mindmap, make art, meditate, and see
what comes up.

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00:22:27,780 --> 00:22:30,990
Are there unforeseen consequences to consider?

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00:22:30,990 --> 00:22:34,809
Are there alternative pathways that haven't
been explored?

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00:22:34,809 --> 00:22:40,380
Only after exhaustively pondering all possibilities
can you confidently determine the best course

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00:22:40,380 --> 00:22:41,790
of action.

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00:22:41,790 --> 00:22:46,510
Only if you’ve contemplated all options
that you could think of, do you know whether

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your preferred option is the best one.

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00:22:49,460 --> 00:22:53,970
Moreover, someone who always gives into their
intuitions without giving themselves some

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00:22:53,970 --> 00:22:59,640
time most likely is someone who doesn’t
plan or practice patience - two abilities

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00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:04,039
that are very important aspects of achieving
your goals.

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00:23:04,039 --> 00:23:09,450
Spontaneity can be great, but very destructive,
too.

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00:23:09,450 --> 00:23:14,919
Thinking is what truly gives your intuitions
power, because by assessing your intuitions

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00:23:14,919 --> 00:23:18,900
you gain control over them instead of the
other way around.

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00:23:18,900 --> 00:23:24,480
No matter how helpful and insightful intuitions
can be, you have to determine their helpfulness

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00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,240
and insightfulness first.

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00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:34,539
In other words: don’t let your gut feelings
keep you from waiting for the harvest. 

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00:23:34,539 --> 00:23:39,640
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