The Certainty of Solo, Intuition and The Force

Yes, I’m a Star Wars fan. Sometimes, Han and I even do yoga together.

The other day, while upside down on my mat and glancing over at Han for inspiration (and maybe a little rescue), I thought about that unforgettable scene in The Empire Strikes Back. Princess Leia looks at Han as he’s about to be frozen in carbonite and says:

“I love you.”

And Han—being Han, the scoundrel with swagger—replies:

“I know.”

Did you ever doubt Leia loved him? Or that Han was certain she did? He knew it. She knew it. The audience knew it. Certainty seemed to fill the room.

But was it certainty?

Why did Leia say it then? Was she unsure if she’d ever see him again? Was it fear of the unknown future, not of her feelings? Maybe she wanted to give him something to hold onto—an anchor in the dark. Leia, like Luke, was strong in The Force, and her intuition told her this was the moment.

And about The Force—Yoda puts it best:

“A powerful energy field that surrounds and binds all living things.”

That sounds a lot like intuition to me.

Decision, Intuition, and Certainty

What does intuition have to do with any of this?

In her book, Everyday Intuition, Elizabeth Greenwood explores intuition as a vital human tool—not magic, but self-knowledge in action. She defines intuition as:

“A tool that helps us tap into our self-knowledge and learn to trust our instincts.”

She emphasizes that intuition becomes powerful when we separate it from anxiety, wishful thinking, or denial. Neuroscientists agree: intuition isn’t accessible when our nervous system is dysregulated. In other words, when we’re stuck in fight-or-flight, our gut wisdom goes offline.

Other thinkers describe it this way:

• Tara Swart calls it “the sum of our unconscious knowledge.”
• Coaches caution that unconscious bias can masquerade as intuition.
• Psychologists remind us that intuition often works through pattern recognition—a brain shortcut built from experience.

So, is it magic? Or science? Or both?

My Journey with Certainty

Our brains love certainty. It feels safe, even when the situation itself is anything but. For me, certainty kept me stuck in my marriage far longer than was healthy. I was convinced that if I just waited—if I just worked harder, if I just found the “right sign”—things would get better.

I was certain leaving would be worse. I was certain I couldn’t handle it. I was certain the unknown would break me. I was certain I was SUPPOSED to stay married!

But the truth was, I had to get quiet with myself and ask two questions:

1. Why was I afraid to leave?
2. Why did I want to leave?

The answers were raw and painful, but they were also freeing. Once I admitted them, I realized that my grip on certainty was keeping me from living.

And here’s what happened: I left. I survived. More than that—I rebuilt, reshaped, and created a life that fits me better than I ever thought possible. Coaching grew out of that space. Joy grew out of that space. More intuition grew out of that space.

Was I always certain? Absolutely not. But learning to live with uncertainty gave me freedom. And it’s a practice I work on daily.

Sometimes, when the doubts creep in, I go upside down with Han. A change in perspective never fails.

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A Simple Practice to Develop Intuition

Here’s one small exercise (adapted from Tara Swart) you can try:

1. The next time you’re making a low-stakes decision, write down what logic is telling you.
2. Then, write down what your intuition is telling you.
3. If they disagree, try going with intuition—just to see what happens.

It’s a playful way to practice listening to that quiet inner voice.

Want More Support?

If uncertainty has you stuck, I can help. Book a free 45-minute consult with me and let’s talk about how uncertainty shows up in your decisions—and how to move forward with clarity and confidence.

“Never tell me the odds.” — Han Solo