Welcome reader!
There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen. - Rumi
Summary:
Most people take their gut feeling for granted. No matter how good an indicator it is, it could save you from trouble.
Your gut feeling is the combination of your previous experience, trauma, and pattern recognition. It should serve you as a tool.
What is this read about? The importance of why you should not ignore your gut feeling, and how to get better at recognizing when your body signals that you should pay extra attention to.
Approach what it takes to reconnect with your gut feeling.
How to trust your gut feeling to get more.
You Ignored Your Ally
Do you remember: When you felt something was off the other side, but you still decided to move forward? Remember when you felt danger but chose to ignore it? Remember when you had a gut feeling that it was the right thing to do, but you were too scared? All of those are common signs that you have decided to ignore your greatest ally. Your gut feeling. Ask yourself how many times this has happened in your life? It has happened multiple times to all of us. Yet you always somehow figure out a way to cope with it, claiming that it was not that important or necessary. We know that approach is wrong. Why? It is bad because you are limiting yourself. Not necessarily in predicting the outcome and the future with it. But using your subconscious to point you in the right direction based on your previous experience and trauma. Your gut feeling is your tool. One that you need to learn how to trust.
Why we ignore it: We have noticed that it is becoming more common as time moves on. It is impossible to say why more people are ignoring their feelings and instead seeking other ways to justify their actions or thoughts. It is hard to pinpoint exactly, but social media undoubtedly plays a major role. How many times have you heard a wild take that was 100% right, but it went against mainstream advice? That the creator got criticized to the point of being bullied? This is a very basic take. At the same time, it makes a lot of sense when you start digging deeper and it is quite a common one. Another point could be that there is an information overload. That endless content pushes you into the place where you stop listening to your body and instead consume what others have curated for you. Directly programming your mind and subconscious. Have you also noticed that most of society needs a study to prove whether something is right or wrong? Studies should definitely be looked into. Should they serve as a base for everything that happens in your life? Absolutely not. Never allow yourself to fall for this Reddit mindset. There are multiple things studies have yet to confirm, and there is doubt about whether they ever will. Social detachment also plays a massive role, as being constantly on the phone and having notifications 24/7 bombarding you is not human. Neither is it something you should never allow yourself. To avoid making this unnecessarily long…
The three main reasons why most people ignore their gut feelings:
That we live in an era of abundant information - thinking someone else knows better than we ourselves do
Everyone being able to criticize you once you express your (gut) feeling and ideas (normies shaming you)
Being completely detached from the present moment
Why you should trust your gut and intuition: It is a tool you can't buy or obtain. Neither is it something you can decide to start using one day. You have to train it. Your gut feeling is mainly based on your intuition. Your body, mind, and soul are telling you to pay attention and not ignore what is happening at that moment. It is your brain signaling that your subconscious has detected a signal it has experienced before. Some say it is your body remembering what your mind has forgotten. Others say it is the best tool to avoid danger and prevent ending up in a situation you don't want. Does this mean it is always right? Not really. More so if you don't have enough experience with the signal you’re dealing with (or lost a connection with it). Does that mean ignoring it is a better way to approach it if you are not 100%? That is not the case either. As if the things turn out differently and your gut senses it right, you are in for the maximum pain. Regret is one of those things you want to avoid at all costs. The best way to make the most of your gut feeling is to become aware of what signals you are getting. Knowing what pushes you and how it plays with you. Once you get over those, then you are sure that no matter what signals your body detects, they are not false alarms. Making your gut feeling an ally you should rely on.
Becoming Aware - Your Consciousness, Intuition, And How To Connect The Two
In-depth analysis below (feel free to skip if not interested and move on to the next chapter).
How do you recognize the gut feeling: This is the tricky part if you have not paid attention to it or forgotten how it feels in the first place. The feeling in your stomach is not necessarily the gut feeling (intuition) you are looking for. It might also be the feeling you get in the chest. Sort of the heaviness that comes with it, and a noticeable sense that something is different. Another sign you should pay attention to is how you feel it. At what speed does it come to you, and how strong does it hit you? The gut feeling always comes rapidly - there is no buildup around it or any prolonged tension. It just happens in that exact moment. The reason is that some say it feels like a kick in the stomach. It is a sign that gives you a wake-up call based on previous experiences. If you are one of those lucky ones who can recognize patterns around you, there is a good chance that your gut feeling is playing a massive role in it. You have seen it before. You can sense what is going to happen before it actually does.
It is worth explaining this before we move on to the next point.
Consciousnes
Your thoughts and awareness form it
Logical (to the point)
You are aware of it (to the point)
Active
Intuition:
Closest you can describe the gut feeling - keep this in mind
Emotional (to the point)
You are not aware of it (to the point)
Passive
Closer to the subconscious than the conscious
Being disconnected from your consciousness and intuition: Being disconnected from your consciousness and intuition is where most of the work should happen. Better said, learning how to reconnect with yourself. Since you can't force the gut feeling, it is also not something you can 100% rely on when you need it. It either comes or it goes based on how in line you are with it. What can you do asap? Start reconnecting with yourself. Most will tell you that it comes down to meditation and other practices. Our advice? Quite the opposite. You don’t want to change anything. What you want to find a way to calm yourself down. Without making drastic changes to your lifestyle. But still working on connecting your gut feeling and consciousness. The key is knowing how to let emotions run their course. Knowing that consciousness (active) is the basis for everything that happens in your reality. At the same time, knowing that your intuition is a collection of lived experiences (passive). Conclusion? If you want optimal results and mental health that falls outside the average category, but rather at the next level or two. You will work on finding that bridge between the two. One that works for you. This does take an enormous amount of time, and it should be clear that you should not expect immediate results. We could go so far as to say that this "change" should be one of the hardest ones you pursue for yourself.
A practical way to bridge the gap between the two:
Slow down
Begin asking yourself questions → this is where your intuition should come through
Become aware of how your body feels (sense)
Learn to let go and let your intuition make some basic decisions, such as choosing which direction to go or what movie to watch
Give more space to your inner voice and learn how to trust it
Taking it further:
Combining both of them to get a bigger picture.
While doing an activity, ask yourself:
What am I getting out of this activity I am doing? (conscious approach)
Noticing any differences in your body while doing that activity? (intuition approach)
Ask yourself questions about things that play a big role in your life, such as relationships or career:
Does this role align with what I want to achieve, and will it support me in doing so? (conscious approach)
How does asking a question (a) such as that make you feel? More lively, or you feel the tension in your gut rising while answering it (intuition approach)
Basic one that most can relate to. When someone asks you a question, can you help them with something? Ask yourself:
Do I really want to do this? (conscious approach)
How does your body respond to the answer you have given? Do you feel your neck and chest tightening? (intuition approach)
Another way is to write everything down and search for the answers that way. Which method is better? Try both.
Trust in your inner voice: The gut feeling and the inner voice are not the same. They work together and analyze what the other one is doing. In a way that one influences the other. One speaks while the other signals. That is the best way we could put it. We left this part for the end of our awareness section of the post. If you are not trusting yourself or have lost your inner voice along the way. This should be your main focus. Even before trying to connect your intuition and consciousness (trying to figure out how to bridge between them as best as possible). This usually happens when you ignore the most obvious sign (gut feeling), and when you for a change decide to take action based on it, and it backfires. This could be a whole other post, but getting your inner voice back should be something you want to work on.
Think of it as something you are unsure about at first → your untrained gut feeling signals you something → follow up with it → results you didn’t want.
It is simple when you think about it. A few of those, and the trust in your inner voice and gut feeling itself? Disappear. You will naturally choose a different type of defense mechanism. Removing yourself from the combination of your inner voice and gut feeling. The conclusion? You want to be able to listen to both (gut feeling and inner voice) to get the best results. They do work separately. What are the effects, and how will they stack on top of one another? Different levels. Not to mention, since gut feeling is based on past experience and pattern recognition, it means that the inner voice should be able to wake up your gut. Or at least to a certain point.
Your gut knows what your head hasn’t figured out yet. - Unknown