I’ll confess this up front: I am a logical creature. In fact, I realized that the need for order and reason was a core part of who I am when I was in the 2nd grade devouring every Nancy Drew Logic Puzzle Book they made. Let me tell you, baby, to this day, I work wonders with spreadsheets.
What this translates to is that, for much of my life, I have over-thought and over-analyzed everything. Big decisions. Little decisions.
I’ve even found myself over-explaining those decisions, or actions I have taken, to people who, frankly, don’t need or deserve any kind of explanation for how I choose to live my life.
I know that I am not alone and bet you can relate.
Let me tell you something, darling: the biggest moves towards creating and living this life that I love and adore didn’t come from analyzing and being logical. Nope.
I became the sexiest, sassiest version of myself…the woman I was meant to be by deciding how I wanted to feel and then taking a giant leap of faith towards that feeling and the vision it offered.
Each and every one of us are gifted at birth with a “gut sense” aka intuition. Those of us who are also logical often push aside our gut feelings because it wasn’t thought (agonized) over.
So, here’s the real deal: our intuition isn’t guiding us away from our thoughts, it’s actually a part of our brilliant minds. When we get a gut feeling, it’s actually a rapid-fire unconscious associating process that comes from what you already know.
In mere seconds, our brain scans our experiences, knowledge and memories and gives us a gut response to something. It’s like magic!
But there are other things at work when it comes to not listening to our gut.
Our Inner Critic pops up and begins bombarding us with her worries. Mostly around making the “right” decision. The decision that will give us the outcome we want….or the outcome that society will approve of.
We become paralyzed. We want certainty. We want to know how it’s going to turn out.
So we analyze and agonize. We over-think it. We step away from trusting ourselves. We move away from faith.
We ignore the gift we were born with: know what is best for ourselves, even if it’s not the perfect path for others.
Sometimes, we ignore our gut around a decision to move forward, but we’re afraid of taking that step in case it’s “wrong”. Sometimes, it’s the decision to not go forward, but we feel some societal of “should” pressure to do it, even when our gut is screaming at us to STOP or SLOW DOWN.
Let me tell you something, darling: Nothing in life is certain.
And the more we argue with that reality, the deeper into fear and the further away from living life we desire – and deserve.
You may be asking me: so, how do you move towards living and let go of your need for certainty?
You trust your gut.
You let go of perfection. You offer love and compassion to your inner critic.
You have faith.
You believe in what you can’t see. You find courage and strength within yourself. You begin to let go of your need for certainty. You stop living unconsciously. You stop trying to live up to the expectations of others.
You choose love over fear.
I know a hell of a lot about faith. And, baby, I know that it can feel not only a little scary, but terrifying. I also know that the scariest and biggest leaps of faith may have seemed the riskiest, but, baby, they have been the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Darling, it’s time to begin letting go of the need for knowing that things are going to be exactly like you want them to be, and have faith that life will surpass what you dream.
Have faith, darling. Choose love. It’s time to trust your gut.
