I think most everyone here probably had a moment or two when they suddenly or finally understood something essential about their personality, ability, learning styles, thought processes, etc.
So, my question is, when was that moment or moments (possibly an epiphany) you understood the way you thought, or the way you processed ideas? How did it affect you?
In other words, how did you make sense of that epiphany or realization when you came to an understanding of how your mind works? How did this change or affect your understanding of your choices, approaches to tasks or situations, or what you believed you could accomplish or do?
I don't remember when the exact point of awareness was, but I now recognize two separate voices (not real voices, just like internal points of view advocates) within my thought process.
One of the voices is in tune with practical, logical, and explainable thought processes. It's the one that respects the rules of proper decision-making as I've been taught by society. It's one that if I told someone how I reached a decision following it's path, they would likely go, "Oh, OK", whether they agreed with the end decision or not, because they'd understand my process.
The other voice is the one I associate with my intuition. It doesn't always make logical sense. Everything reasonable or practical might point to a different decision, but that other voice is saying, "no, go
this way". I've learned through experience that this voice never leads me astray. It doesn't matter how little sense it seems to make, it's always led to the best outcomes to follow it. I have come to believe that this voice is in touch with a greater consciousness that understands a wider range of factors and implications than I can consciously process.
I think my awareness and more absolute trust of the second voice has come in the last few years. I sort of played with my awareness of this voice and it's tendency to be right for a while, but when the decision was really important and the two voices where in conflict, I'd abandon my intuition. The job I currently hold is an example of ignoring the voice. I took the job because it was my first offer and the conscious, practical part of me said, "bird in hand", despite the fact that my inner voice was telling me, "no, this is not your place". It has been the worst environment I've ever worked in.
I think this was the turning point for me in recognizing that no matter how uncomfortable following an inner voice I can't justify to anyone else is, it will always be in my best interest to listen to it's wisdom.