Be your own guardian angel
How many times have you had a strong gut feeling? Deep in the pit of your stomach, you can’t really explain what it is, but that feeling is either strongly urging you toward something or telling you not to do something. That feeling is instinct and you shouldn’t be ignoring it. Just like animals have their primal instincts, us humans have intuition and we too often dismiss what it is guiding us to do. Why?
Maybe it has something to do with judgment. A gut instinct isn’t really rooted in fact, it’s simply something you feel. Because of that, it’s easy to dismiss as judgment. After all, don’t be judgmental if you don’t want to be judged. And aren’t all of us terrified of false judgment? Judgment at all? Or maybe it’s a desire to be nice. Treat others the way you wish to be treated, right? So again, don’t be judgmental. But really, a gut instinct differs from judgment. It’s a stronger more guttural feeling, and it serves a purpose, even if it can’t precisely be explained. Can you think about a time when you had a strong inclination, couldn’t explain it, so you ignored it, and then you regretted it? I’ve been there time and time again. Every time, I explained away my feelings as judgment or insecurity and I was proven wrong.
Of course following your intuition takes practice. It’s like fine-tuning an instrument. Sometimes, you might tune it wrong and the key is going to be slightly off. However, if you ignore it all together, it’s like smashing a guitar and never learning how to play. Start trusting yourself. Of all the things that go on in life and of all the people you meet, the only person you have control over is you. The person you spend the most time with is you. Hone your intuition, because that’s an invaluable life skill.
The fear of being wrong or making a mistake can be debilitating. But life is about failure and learning from it. You can’t allow yourself to become inactive for fear of making mistakes; otherwise you’ll never grow in life. Don’t let that fear become the reason you don’t follow your instinct. Follow your gut. Sometimes you may be wrong, but you’ll feel more proud and secure listening to yourself and being wrong than you will not listening to yourself and being wrong. It’s a trade off. Like muscle memory, the more you practice the better and more skilled you become. You’re going to fall off the bike a few times before you learn how to properly ride it. Once you get the feel of it though, it sticks with you.
Follow your gut instinct. If you’re still someone that needs to unpack things and come to logical conclusions, fine. Take the time to unpack that feeling and consider why you might feel that way. Draw up your pros and cons list. Draw an idea map. Do whatever you need to do to properly think about it. But please, don’t simply ignore it.
