TRUST the gut

I am sure by now you have had to make plenty of decisions in life. You made the decision to read this daily digest (and I thank you for that!). BUT, sometimes there are some easy decisions to make in life and there are difficult decisions. I know that to some people I work with a difficult decision could be what to wear whereas others may find a difficult decision on where to go to school. Or, my favourite is the decision to quit a position and work independently. Yes, the subject line tells it all. Trust your gut.

You need to do some preliminary work first.

Have you ever trusted your gut? I know I have but my gut and I have been around for quite some time. We listen to each other and tend to agree on a lot of things. It wasn't always this way though. There were decisions I have made that were decided upon by pure logic. Others out of feelings/ emotionally charged decisions. Has this happened to you? I am sure some of your are chuckling at the notion of an emotionally charged decision. Maybe when you said something out of spite and had a few repercussions. I do need to acknowledge that I did start looking for a dog house photo as my daily image BUT, I decided on something a bit more suitable (get it, suit!) for this discussion.

What happens when we make a decision?

Yes, there is an opportunity to tackle the decision by using both logic and emotion. There is nothing wrong with this. We tend to lean to one side or the other based on our comfort level. Comfort, now wouldn't it be FAN-tastic to have the opportunity to always make comfortable decisions. Decisions that truly have no consequences to our actions. No one that can be held accountable if the decision goes wrong or additional problems stirs up as a result.

Unfortunately, not all decisions are easy to make.

Amen! But, I do believe there is a way of blending both thought and emotion to making an effective decision. I have used this time and time again and the result usually makes me confident in my decision. Not only am I confident in my decision, but I am also willing to accept the consequences of my actions because I am consistent on how I make the decision.

I trust my gut.

Yes, I am going a bit in a circle here today. The reason I look like I am going in a circle is that I ALWAYS find myself willing to accept my gut. If my gut is saying yes/no/be cautious/ take the risk then I need to be honest with myself. But here is the part that I want to share with you that I do.

I wait to make a decision.

Yes, there is a bit of a waiting game. While my gut is giving me direction. I also need to honour the fact that I need to be patient with the process. This was the secret that I share with you all now. I allow myself a bit of time to reflect on the decision making the process. I don't always need to weigh out the pros and cons of the decision being made BUT I do take some time to reflect on the decision that needs to be made. I do also recognize and accept that many scenarios do not involve or have the opportunity to give some time to make a decision.

This is where the gut come back at full strength.

I envision my gut to be this whirlwind of data and emotion all rolled into one big hurricane in my stomach. Can you picture it? All of your life experiences, education, training, and knowledge ramping up in your gut giving you a quick and decisive answer. That answer that allows you to take the next leap forward.

Well, society doesn't always work that way.

Recently, my gut has encouraged me to wait. I have listened to my gut on quite occasions where the response was to wait and see. For some decisions, I was able to do so. Other times, the response was not always in kind. Society, on the other hand, with the ability to use social media to reach people in a matter of seconds has transitioned else all to quick gratification.

Do you find yourself combating your gut? Are societal norms driving you crazy? Join my discussion forum and let's chat about how was can trust our gut!

-Dr. Drew's Daily Digest