Gut Feeling
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the concept of listening to your gut, authenticity and how the two are interlinked. I really value authenticity in other people, and I find myself pulling away from people who I consider “fake” – I actually find it incredibly annoying. I sometimes wonder if that’s because it’s something I struggle in myself (my inner people pleaser often results in me doing things I’m uncomfortable with just because I don’t want to put someone else out) and they do say the things you don’t like in others are often the things you don’t like in yourself, so that would make sense.
I recently left a job that I wasn’t happy in and, without going into too much detail, it wasn’t right for me. I liked the idea of it: the cool Dublin office, the decent, regular salary, the opportunity to work on well-known brands that people have actually heard of (!!) but the reality of commuting from Wicklow Town three days week, unsociable hours, constant pressure of looming deadlines while trying to balance with college on Mondays and Saturdays and assignments… well it was a whole other ball-game. I lasted 2 months (10 weeks if I’m being generous). Not ideal for my CV but do I regret it? Absolutely NOT! I’ve something else lined up, which I feel so excited about it, not only because the work is more in my wheelhouse, but also because I’m being true to myself and listening to my needs, even if it means cutting my hours and income.
That said, I was really struggling with the decision. I often find decision making stressful – particularly the big stuff. I get so caught up on what I feel I “should” do, that I often forget about what I want. That’s where I turn to my gut. I find trying to visualize myself in Option A and Option B provokes varying emotions and there’s been many times in my life where I’ve stifled negative emotions because it would mean going against the “should do” but where has that always left me? Depressed. Demotivated. Down-right sh*t to be around. I didn’t want that to happen this time – with my track record I know it would have been uuuugly. So I made my decision - it was hard, it involved some tough conversations and it felt slow to become a reality… but now it is my reality and I couldn’t be happier. I have a plan for my immediate future, and I feel driven because it aligns with what I want for myself.
After all this pondering, I started looking into gut feelings and discovered the science behind it. After your brain, your stomach has more neurons than any other part of the body – even the spinal cord, and we all know how important that is – so there’s a reason the stomach is referred to as “the second brain”. Without us knowing it, the gut and brain work together to make so many automatic daily decisions and these are largely based on previous experiences, memories and learnings. Human beings are constantly processing information in order to make seemingly automatic decisions. This is why sometimes you get a hunch about something, even though you don’t know why - your brain and your gut have been doing all the data analysis in the background and are effectively giving you your answer. No it’s not to say that your intuition is always right, but it’s a powerful tool and can often help us when an answer isn’t immediately obvious.
Personally, I’ve always considered myself intuitive - particularly in relation to people’s emotions - and can often quickly sense when somethings amiss. I read that “highly sensitive” people generally have strong intuition, which makes sense as I am indeed “highly sensitive”. I used to consider that an insult but I’m learning to accept that’s just who I am, even learning to leverage it as a strength (still a work in progress admittedly). Moving forward, I’ll remember to lean into my gut feeling, give it the precedence it deserves and hope that will lead to a more authentic, and ultimately happier, life.
Watch this space.
R x