5 ways to learn how to trust your gut
You know the butterflies you get in your tummy when you’re about to see your significant other, or when you’re at the top of a roller coaster? What if I told you that feeling was your sixth sense, that, when harnessed properly, is like a second brain?
When faced with urgent tough decisions, we’ve all heard our parents, friends, professors and therapists tell us to “trust our gut,” and while this seems like illogical, unreliable and even metaphysical advice, there is actually some truth to it. There are over 100 million neurons lining your digestive tract, which is the second most concentrated place in your body after the brain with over 100 billion neurons. It is also the only other organ that has its own nervous system separate from the brain; so your tummy really is where it’s at.
You may not know it but when working to make a decision, your brain is working in a synchronized rhythm with your gut to gauge personal needs, evaluate past learnings and analyze memories to make the most sagacious decision with the library of information you have. The feeling of having a pit in your stomach is your body’s way of reaffirming your uncertainty or negative feelings toward an option, while the butterflies is a way to avow your excitement about a possible outcome and opportunity. It’s clear that if you pair trusting your gut with your analytical thinking skills you are able to make speedier and more accurate decisions that will leave you feeling confident and secure in your choices versus when you strictly just rely on your intellect.
Now that we’ve debunked whether or not it’s worth trusting your gut, which it is, the real question is how the heck does one train their gut to take their emotions into consideration without allowing them to get the best of you? Well, you’re in luck because here are five ways to develop, finesse and utilize your intuition.
1. Discern gut feeling from fear
That pit in your stomach, clammy hands, panicky fight-or-feeling you dread, how do we know if that’s fear or your gut when they both present so similarly? The difference is in the direction of your energy. Fear is a pushing energy, as if you’re forcing something or trying to avoid a negative feeling, and is usually controlled by self-detrimental thoughts. Intuition, on the other hand, is a pulling energy, and while you may be scared or nervous, you know your choice is in your best interest as it’s often supported with feelings of excitement and even anticipation.
2. Fall back on your values
Values often are the things that are most important to you, which could be family, diversity, freedom, stability or routine. Figuring out your core values can help you decide what path to go down when you’re met at crossroads. If one choice strays from the three things you feel are the most important priority, then you have your answer. It’s easy to forget and take for granted what we appreciate most when we have it every day, so before making a life-alternating decision make sure that the things you care about most are still able to be achieved and maintained.
3. Test drive your choices
If time permits and you’re stuck between two options, act for a couple days as if you’ve made choice A in order to know if that is the way to go or if choice B is actually what’s meant to be. This will allow you to stop agonizing over what if’s and overthinking if you’re making the right choice. Now if you’re in a time crunch, try flipping a coin and see if the answer that it lands on is the one you were hoping for. Do you feel joy and relief or disappointment and dread? At the end you have to remember that no choice has to be final and you can always change your mind. The most important thing is to be truthful with yourself in whatever decision you make.
4. Mediate and journal
It can be hard to quiet all the noise when you’re in the middle of trying to make a decision no matter how small or significant. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take some time to quiet your thoughts and nervous system by mediating. If you’re like me and cannot get your brain to focus on not focusing, try journaling and brain dumping everything that is stressing you out. It’s important that you are emotionally and physically calm when making a decision rather than a place of frenzy. If you aren’t, you’re at risk of making an emotional decision rather than a grounded one.
5. Seek solitude and remember authenticity
It can be hard and even intimidating to make a decision when it seems as if everyone has an opinion on what you should do. In times of major life choices, while it can be helpful to seek input from the people that know you best, it’s also important that you take some time for yourself to not only go over their advice, but also survey and inspect what you feel deep down. While we live in a society that is growing positive of change, it can still be daunting to break out of something comfortable, yet it is so important to stay true to who you are and be the first if that is what is going to bring you the most fulfillment. Remember, at the end of the day, it’s you that has to live with the choice, not everyone else around you trying to make it for you.
Header photo by Ivan Samkov / Pexels
