I just received an email from an intuition client thanking me profusely for encouraging her to check with her own intuition before making a major financial choice.

Because she checked in with her guidance and followed through on it, she avoided using precious funds that are earmarked for the future – and at the same time, she found that additional revenue streams opened up to her, seemingly by magic.

The lesson here? If you have a major financial decision to make, always consult with your own inner wisdom on the topic.

This isn’t the only input you may need, but your intuition is a big part of the team of players who help you make wise choices.

The challenge is, so often we’re wrapped up tightly in our own decisions. We can’t get clear enough on our options to receive inner guidance with clarity and accuracy.

How do you help yourself in this situation?

Well, for starters, you can talk with someone. I’m a big fan of getting coached. Find someone who is neutral to the decision, who can help you reach that place of calm neutrality.

You’ll notice I didn’t offer my client my intuitive impressions (though we have worked extensively with my intuition in the past). Instead, I approached her dilemma from a detached viewpoint, and I asked her to check in with her own guidance.

Because she and I have worked a great deal on developing her own intuition, she already had some tools in her intuition toolkit, and she knew how to use them.

Here’s a tool you can start to use right now, if you’re in a pickle and need some clarity around a decision. I call it Disengagement, and it goes a little something like this:

When you think of the dilemma, and all of your energy tightens up (you’ll feel your shoulders get scrunchy, or perhaps your jaw feels made of concrete), immediately switch gears and go do something else. Anything else, as long as it’s something that you love.

I go walk my dogs. Or I read a few blogs that help me feel good. Or I wander rocky beaches, or bounce on the trampoline and read some comics. (Yes, comics!)

Then, after you’ve done a feel-good thing, return to the decision with an attitude of lightness. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Did an impression flash quickly across your awareness? What was it?

Write it all down. With intuition, first impressions are worth their weight in gold.

If you feel yourself engaging and tightening up again, start over. Then return to the decision and notice the very first thing that comes to your mind.

Keep this tool tucked away in your intuition toolkit. Practice using it now and then for a few inconsequential choices. Then, when you’ve got a track record of intuitive success behind you, put it to use in the big questions, like my client did with her financial decision. She’s proof that consulting your intuition can pay off well.