If you think your intuition is inactive, you might be overlooking the ways it quietly operates in the background of your daily life. Would you like to know how?
Intuition is the ability to access your accumulated knowledge and experiences—including those stored in your subconscious and unconscious—and to generate new ideas or answers to your questions. Unlike conscious thoughts, which follow reasoning or analysis, intuition arises spontaneously, without any deliberate processing.
One common form of intuitive processing is implicit learning—a type of learning that occurs when our conscious mind isn’t directly involved. Our lives are filled with examples of this. In fact, we all practice intuition without even realizing it! Many daily functions—such as typing, showering, or driving—are performed on autopilot. We simply do them, and, if necessary, modify them intuitively in the moment.
The term "implicit learning" was first coined by Arthur Reber in 1967. It is also referred to as "learning by doing" or, in some cases, "muscle memory," as it involves acquiring skills through repeated practice, often without conscious awareness. We store details of the activity in our unconscious and subconscious mind, as well as in our neurological system, while nerves and neurons send and receive signals. All of this happens without us consciously trying to do so. After the learning period, we begin to perform the activity without thinking about each step.
It is very easy to observe implicit learning—and, therefore, intuitive processes—in action among masters of any profession. Take a master baker, for example. You can see their muscle memory at work if you watch them bring together flour, water, and other ingredients to make a perfect dough. They knead it for just the right amount of time, applying the perfect amount of pressure. The temperature of the bakery, the moisture in the air, and other factors are not the same every time they bake, but they know how to adjust. They add a bit more flour here or knead a bit harder there—intuitively—so that the bread tastes and even smells exactly as intended.
The learning and performing process for a professional tennis player is another example. While they initially learn skills from their coaches, as they become highly skilled, implicit learning—and therefore intuition—comes into play, making them move their body and hit the ball in specific ways, as if a complex algorithm were optimizing each step.
You may be wondering, “Okay, that might be the case for professionals, but how does that relate to my daily life?” You are a master of the activities you do repeatedly on autopilot. These might include certain tasks at your job that you can “accomplish in your sleep,” walking or running in your neighborhood and knowing where to slow down or turn, watering your plants just the right amount, playing catch with your friend or child, making your toast in the morning, and so on—all without thinking about it. In most of these activities, you are also able to make the necessary adjustments intuitively when conditions change, such as not running or walking at the same speed on rainy days.
When you are getting to know your intuition and learning to use it more intentionally, remember that it is already active. It is there like a quiet, supportive friend doing everything they can to make your life easier.
You can read more about intuition and implicit learning in my book Down to Earth: Demystify Intuition to Upgrade Your Life that is scheduled to be published on September 15th, 2025.
Sources:
Reber, A. S. (1967). Implicit learning of artificial grammars. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 6(6), 855–863.
