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I went to bed last night with no idea of what to write this week. I had other ideas but they really weren’t “calling to me.” I woke up with a start at one o’clock this morning, with two words ringing in my ears; GUT INSTINCT. Fine…no problem. We can talk about gut instinct…but, can I get back to sleep now?
I should have realized this was coming. I’ve had this conversation several times in the last week; from whether to trust new people, and professional ventures- to family issues, and long term goals. Every time, the discussion came back to trusting your gut. And believe it or not, your gut is what you should trust, more often than not.
Learn your queues
There are many physical queues to be on the lookout for and it’s important to know what your baseline feels like. Sit comfortably and quiet your mind.
Think back to a time where someone was mean… really just awful to you. Do you feel tight and tense? Where? Is it in your stomach, back, shoulders, arms or legs? It may be somewhere else and that’s ok too. Do you recognize this feeling? I bet you do! In typing this, my stomach was in knots!
Let’s switch to something much more pleasant, shall we? Think back to a time when someone was lovely to you or a moment that someone made you feel wonderful….are you there? How do you feel now? Do you feel soft, relaxed, calm or warm? Where? Is it in your stomach, heart or head? Somewhere else, maybe?
Do you see what I’m getting at here? Take this and hone in on it….master your newly acquired skill. You’ve got this amazing ability, and it’s totally free to you! So, the next time you’re sitting in a meeting and someone says something….and you find your stomach knotting up, recognize it!
Using your new skill set
There’s actually a very real, scientific reasoning behind all of this (while I’d like to believe I was just using my hocus pocus skillset, it’s apparently not the case). Our brains have been collecting and storing information our entire lives. As we grow and have experiences, our brain recognizes patterns and organizes them into blocks called “chunking”. All of this knowledge is placed into our long term memory, and when we receive any tiny little detail, it’s recognized by our brain and called “intuition.”
Hocus…Pocus! So, don’t write your gut off. There’s something more there. Maybe you just need more information or maybe they aren’t being completely truthful. But pull back for a minute and re-assess.
It’s your gut. USE IT!