Listening to Your Gut: But How Does That Work?
Many times, I’ve heard people, including Steve Jobs, say, “Trust your gut, even if it doesn’t make sense at the time.” But how can we differentiate our desires, fears, random thoughts, etc., from our strong, intuitive gut feeling?
Indeed, I’m someone who often relies on intuition, especially when I find it challenging to make decisions based on facts and figures.
I’m at a critical point in my life, about to make a significant decision.
One interesting observation is how this decision would be seen and regarded by others.
Though the thought of “what others will think” is often deemed irrelevant, we place great importance on it. While it’s easy to say, “Don’t mind what others think, just focus on yourself,” most of us would agree it’s challenging to put this advice into practice.
I believe this is largely because we humans are social animals. We live in societies, interact with many people daily, and encounter situations and conversations we can’t avoid. Their opinions and perspectives inevitably impact us.
Can you worry about what others think and trust your gut simultaneously?
I think to be fully confident in your intuition, you should believe in what you see and trust yourself. Or at least, that’s what I believe.
I don’t know for sure, but one thing is clear to me: to trust your gut, you need some guts!
I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey in 2017. Throughout this journey, I’ve been relying on intuition, especially when no other options were apparent.
I’ve done some seemingly crazy things!
I’ve entrusted my life savings to people I’ve never met…
I’ve found the courage to tackle problems that seemed much bigger than me….
I’ve faced some scary financial situations, where I don’t think many people would have had the tenacity to hold on….
And while doing all this, the only guide I had was my gut, my intuition, my heart — or whatever you wish to call it!
Yes, it paid off!
Suppose someone were to measure success by the amount of money I’ve made, I might not score highly. But if they considered the entire situation — how I’ve managed to navigate my life, family, start-ups, aspirations, fundraising, and job — they might be surprised. They might even unanimously agree that I’ve done incredibly well.
As mentioned before, my regard for what others think is pretty low. To me, success is something we feel, not something others see.
I’ve learned a lot!
Am I talking about conflicting things here? Yes and no.
The reason I decided to share my thoughts today is that I’m about to make a decision. I’m going ahead with what my gut is telling me, but as always, I’m scared.
Like I’ve always done, I ask myself consciously and unconsciously, “Am I making the right decision?”
Still, I know there are no right or wrong decisions, but I still face confusion and fear due to the uncertainty surrounding the unknown.
Why bother?
It might seem like I’m asking questions and answering them myself. If you feel that, you’re right. That’s precisely what I’m doing here because this is the first time I’ve thought about writing my feelings down before making a major decision.
The only thing I know…
As a person on a meditation journey, I’m learning to look inwards rather than outwards in my daily life. The more I look inside myself, the more I see my fears, desires, courage, and weaknesses — more often and stronger than what can be seen by others close to me, like my wife.
Unlike before, this time, I think I can see the fear inside of me and yet, at the same time, I find the courage to share it with others!
I thought writing about it and understanding my gut feeling more than what I know now would be crucial and helpful in the upcoming stages of my life. But it’s not very clear to me what I’m even asking…
Is there anyone out there who understands what I’m trying to convey?
If you’re someone who, like me, trusts your gut to make decisions, how that process works for you or what that experience is like?
