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In a world where AI is ever-present, information never stops, and external opinions flood our feeds, it’s easy to lose touch with the one voice that truly knows: your own.
Return to Intuition is a podcast for conscious leaders, working parents, creatives, and seekers who are ready to pause the noise and tune back in. Hosted by Erin McMahon—marketing executive, mother of two, and intuitive seeker—this show explores how reconnecting with your inner voice can transform the way you lead, parent, create, and live.
Each episode offers grounded insight, personal reflection, and meaningful conversations with founders, intuitive leaders, and thoughtful creators navigating growth, ambition, and soul-aligned choices in a fast-changing world.
Let’s face the future knowing our greatest guide is within—and talk to each other about how to use the world around us to build the best every day and an even better future.
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;28;01
Unknown
Hello this is Erin And welcome back to Return on Intuition. It's been a few weeks since I've recorded a podcast. I then returning from a trip abroad and catching up on work and, excited to get back and speak to everyone. So today I thought I'd talk about an adventure I had over the weekend, which is visiting, one of my best friends from college.
00;00;28;04 - 00;00;56;08
Unknown
She was in Florida visiting her mom for the summer, and she just had a baby, in December. And she was in Madrid, and she came to the U.S. for the summer. She's originally planning a trip to North Carolina, where I currently live. And, a few weeks ago, she, called me and said my trip to North Carolina is off because I've discovered my city baby hates being in the car.
00;00;56;08 - 00;01;25;11
Unknown
So it's not going. And, you know, I'd love to see you still, but it's not going to work out to drive all the way to North Carolina. So I immediately said, okay, I'm coming to visit. Coming to visit you doesn't matter how it's going to happen or whatever, but it's it's happening. And this is, somewhat out of character for me because I have a very, you know, sort of set schedule with the kids.
00;01;25;11 - 00;02;04;04
Unknown
I am primarily responsible for taking them to and from school. And I also have a big schedule with work. I am primarily responsible for marketing for an international company and also another startup doing a lot of work with them and ramping up with their, new marketing initiatives and team. And so there's a lot going on. And, in general, the eco part of my brain goes and by ego, I mean the part of my brain that is used to routine schedule, what's going on that that part of my brain was like, what are you doing?
00;02;04;04 - 00;02;22;21
Unknown
You can't you can't spontaneously take a trip at the last moment and you have no plans. You haven't told your team there's going to be time off. There's a lot of work to do. Your kids, you know, have just normal schedules and lots of needs. So, it's going to be very difficult to meet this century.
00;02;22;23 - 00;02;48;11
Unknown
But even though this is going on my mind and I'm running like a crazy tape recorder, there is also part of me that kind of saw it there. There may be issues with a young baby traveling, in a car after, the baby has lived in the city her whole life and is in a two car. So part of me, I was like, maybe I'll have to, you know, maybe there's another way.
00;02;48;11 - 00;03;11;19
Unknown
I'll add Katie, my best friend. So as soon as she said I can't come, I immediately thought, how am I going to make it to Florida? Has this going to happen? And I ended up going for a short trip, scheduling over a very short period of time. I was only there for about 24 hours. Luckily, my mom can help me, watch kids and stay overnight.
00;03;11;22 - 00;03;45;17
Unknown
To support their dad, who's, you know, got, work schedule, too. And so, luckily, you know, I have the support system that, all that aligned, and I could count on back on this child care support of my kids being completely supported. In the meantime, I, you know, have other just schedule nuances that I, I know that I'm going to, you know, not be able to work out in the same way I do the same things, attend all the schedule meetings, have to do makeup work, all that sort of thing.
00;03;45;19 - 00;04;07;03
Unknown
And, you know, all that, all those things again, other the ego, routine side of myself that said, you know, what are you doing? This is not this is I comfortable this is not comfortable for me at all. This is not comfortable schedules. And then at the last minute, there's, the side of me that was the internal knowing.
00;04;07;03 - 00;04;47;13
Unknown
Yes, absolutely. I'm doing this. There's no question in my mind that this is happening. So, I ended up booking and ticket arranging everything, and went on the trip, and it was the most amazing, so fulfilling time ever. Not only seeing my friend and seeing her new baby, which was an absolutely miraculous thing, but seeing her seeing another friend who I hadn't, connected with since college and having that time together and speaking, being in a different environment, going through, you know, what we've been up to, how have we changed since we became mothers?
00;04;47;13 - 00;05;23;08
Unknown
I hadn't seen her, you know, since I became a mother. So it's a really amazing and enriching experience. I think what I take away from this is that it's very easy to ignore the part of the brain that wants to do the harder, out of the ordinary thing, and it's it's easy to fall in the routine and make up an excuse of the 10 or 15 reasons why, you know, making the trip would be difficult or you know why it doesn't make sense.
00;05;23;08 - 00;05;46;28
Unknown
And I think the key, the key messages I knew once she said she couldn't come here, that I was going to visit her there, and I was going to, you know, make all the changes that I needed to and sort of consequences be down for some of the things that I'd have to, you know, work on separately for, for work or, you know, things like that.
00;05;46;28 - 00;06;11;11
Unknown
I really wanted to make this visit, and I, I put it that because it is a soul knowing versus running with your, your automatic brain and one voice was a deeper sense of, yes, you're doing this. And the other side was like, you know, is communicating. How are you going to do this? Why are you going to do this?
00;06;11;11 - 00;06;37;29
Unknown
This is, you know, this is stressful. This is, you know, difficult. But honestly, it really wasn't that difficult. It, just took a little bit more creative planning and, to be honest, discomfort of going out of the routine and the, the ordinary. And part of this is certainly my personality type, which is, you know, I like routine and, you know, sticking with the day to day.
00;06;37;29 - 00;07;07;06
Unknown
And so doing something last minute spontaneously is not my normal thing, but also it gave me a chance to really push forward and listen to the intuitive side of myself and run with it. The other key thing about this is that a lot of the inner voice messages that we get have to do with changes in things that do mean, you know, going and extending beyond our comfort zone.
00;07;07;06 - 00;07;35;18
Unknown
And it's quite often not a short trip. It's like, I want to change my job or I want to. Or is this relationship so meaningful to me, or is, living in this place still the right place for me? And a lot of those changes you can't just do in a weekend. So in this case, it was a change out of routine, sensing a lot of short term consequences that would have a a quick fix.
00;07;35;18 - 00;07;58;16
Unknown
And, you know, I saw the results immediately for it because, you know, I planned a trip about, you know, a few days out, a book. My plane ticket went flying. Trip was kind of crazy because the weather was was bad and, there ended up being delays and stuff like that, which still, you know, rolled with there was like this is part of the journey, that sort of thing.
00;07;58;16 - 00;08;32;08
Unknown
But, you know, all that was very quick and succession in terms of me listening to my instincts instead of, you know, going with the routine or my intuition and then, you know, feeling, feeling the immediate pain of the quote unquote pain of, you know, changes, shifting things around, setting schedules, all that, and then feeling the immense gratitude and result that came from taking the trip and seeing my best friend in a beautiful location by the beach, her, you know, months.
00;08;32;11 - 00;09;04;13
Unknown
It's in Florida and it's just the beach is so fulfilling spot for me. So that was beautiful to see and experience. And, you know, connect to that in that beautiful location. And so, you know, immediately felt the it was sort of like a fast forward experience of listening to that inner knowing, making those changes, you know, going through those short term changes and then going the reward for that.
00;09;04;13 - 00;09;38;03
Unknown
And, you know, still feeling like that was a very enriching experience. And I'm very, you know, glad I did. But for a lot of changes and feeling of inner knowing that there needs to be a change, it takes a long time to acknowledge clearly that's the right thing to do, because the voices, you know, sometimes, persistent, but not necessarily screaming the same way as your resistance can scream in protest, and then going through the result.
00;09;38;06 - 00;10;10;09
Unknown
So why this relates to return on intuition is because sometimes the return that we see on those intuitive things that we listen to doesn't happen immediately. And sometimes it takes weeks, sometimes it takes months. And that is difficult because there's a lot of time in between for you to give a change your mind, stay the stay the current course, even though it doesn't feel quite right.
00;10;10;09 - 00;10;39;17
Unknown
And that other persistent inner knowing and speaking to you, but your ego slash, you know, current mindset is very persuasive and helping you think you're safe, persuading not to change and leaning into the status quo. So what this lesson taught me for this quick trip like, you know, quick planning, taking a trip lesson, 24 hours, crazy plane delays.
00;10;39;17 - 00;11;14;12
Unknown
What it what it taught me is that it is worth listening to that inner knowing that, for me, was very clear because I knew I wanted to see my friend. And, you know, have that experience so that that was never in doubt. What was, you know, out of the ordinary for me, especially in this new phase of life as a mom, is, you know, making a plane, making a plane trip within, you know, within the space of a week, arranging everything, tying, you know, coworkers that I'm.
00;11;14;15 - 00;11;46;02
Unknown
Yeah. Taking a quick trip to Florida. Like, just like, why why are you taking a week to to Florida and then, you know, going through that and then coming back. And what it taught me was that, you know, listening to that inner knowing is important. And often it takes more persistence and a longer term knowing and courage in the blind faith, not necessarily like blind faith, like I don't know how it's going to turn out, but sometimes it is.
00;11;46;02 - 00;12;12;22
Unknown
I don't know how it's going to turn out because the decisions have a slower cycle. Going through the process, making the change, staying the consequence, and then understanding what what what it was meant to be here, here. The, the, you know, returning result, and and feeling I got from it was very clear and very, immediate and amazing.
00;12;12;22 - 00;12;44;18
Unknown
But, you know, often we are given a feeling and, you know, about career home. Whatever the case may be, and it's not the consequences isn't clear. And in that case, we do have to rely on on faith and to rely on the knowing. And it's hard to trust in that thing that we don't know, isn't it, you know, quieter or easy to get drowned out, especially if we're listening to or external world or easy to forget or ignore.
00;12;44;18 - 00;13;15;23
Unknown
But it's really important to remember and think about those things. I think that voice becomes stronger for me in that sense, that knowing those messages becomes stronger for me when I take the time to be quiet, to meditate, don't get so attached to what, the day to day routine is, and it makes it easier to listen and to verify that the passage of hearing is really is really true and consistent.
00;13;15;23 - 00;13;42;27
Unknown
And then I can, have more courage to act on it. I think courage is a key part of it, too, and it does rely on action. I think it's, aspects of intuition and surrendering are interpreted as, oh, things will happen to me. This will, you know, be a change that I don't have control over. And, you know, surrendering.
00;13;42;27 - 00;14;06;03
Unknown
Yes. Part of it is giving up control, but part of it is also taking aligned action towards where you think I want you believe. So in this case, it is. If you're getting an instinct to change, change a job, then you know, you don't take the big action of, you know, quitting the day. You feel that. However, you might want to take the action of researching a new job.
00;14;06;05 - 00;14;29;03
Unknown
That's like an annoying, annoying when everybody's like, research that, you know, seems, I don't know, a like a common, a common one. But, you know, researching or writing what you think makes more sense. If you in the world of I get a sense that your job is not going to be what you want it to be in five years or in six minds based on how fast things are moving.
00;14;29;05 - 00;15;01;04
Unknown
You know what? What can you do to explore other options? I think obviously meditating is one of those things. So blessing writing is also a good way to, you know, proactively get your thoughts out and understand what's going on and just work at other things within this, you know, ecosystem of, you know, I would look at an opportunity, to see what are, you know, what are the possibilities in another case of you, you know, love where you live.
00;15;01;04 - 00;15;20;21
Unknown
And that's a decision that you made five years ago to live in a place that's like amazing and beautiful. But you get this pull that your life circumstances have changed. And now it's important for you to be, you know, closer to family or if there's a reason to be closer to the family, then you know what? What is your current situation?
00;15;20;25 - 00;15;47;06
Unknown
And you know, that's the known. And it's it's the easier setting because it's your current situation. You you don't need to make a big decision to change. It's almost like a daily decision of not changing. But at the same time, if you keep having this this thought internally that says, well, maybe I should be closer to family, or maybe I do want to live somewhere else.
00;15;47;06 - 00;16;27;08
Unknown
Like, how can you make steps in that direction? And, you know, part of that could be visiting your family for a week to see if it, you know, this is that makes a difference in your experience or, you know, to explore areas that are unknown. But, none of these, you know, big decisions are easy to make. And so that's why small steps to move in the direction of what that inner voice is saying is helpful, because then that can help turn down maybe your, your ego side of the brain a little bit or your, your side that's, more risk averse.
00;16;27;08 - 00;17;00;23
Unknown
It doesn't want to change. It can turn down that side. So you have more confidence in that big decision that you think is the message to you. So that's just my reflections on a, a quick inner inner decision and inner voice, knowing that I, you know, I knew that I was going to visit my friend when she said she couldn't come and visit and that I would, you know, move and rearrange things, so that that would happen again.
00;17;00;23 - 00;17;39;00
Unknown
I feel very lucky that I have support, that it could help me from the, family care perspective that could help me do that. I feel lucky that I have coworkers that were supportive of that, too. And lucky my friend was just visiting the U.S. has and, so it was a quick trip to see her and feel overall very lucky that I have such an amazing best friend that I can, go and visit and have such a strong spiritual connection with and felt, very honored and loved visiting her, her baby and her family.
00;17;39;06 - 00;18;13;03
Unknown
And, you know, it was a really enriching experience to see them, even though it was for less than 24 hours. And it it certainly guided me to the importance of listening to that inner inner voice, being clear that even though, you know, this was a small example of something that had a short turnaround time, it was a good, good example of why listening to that side is important for longer decisions, bigger decisions that might not be so easy.
00;18;13;03 - 00;18;55;27
Unknown
They can be truly nurturing for the soul and so I would encourage you to do the same. Take those inner nagging messages seriously. Try to move in the direction that they are guiding you towards, even if it means ignoring the other side. The risk averse, maybe right brain side of your thinking that says no, this isn't okay. So that is my episode of Return on Intuition today, and I will talk using.