The Gift You Don’t Know You Have

A few months ago a woman called from Arizona. She asked if I’d consider presenting at a conference she was putting together.

In my mind the answer was clear. This was a great opportunity. They were going to pay my way, pay my fee, and give me the chance to test out a whole new crowd.

In my mind it felt like a nice win. My mind, in fact, was ready to do one of those celebratory fists pumps.

But.

Something was wrong.

Another part of me, the one separate from my mind, the one deep in my stomach, began to twitch. I had a moment of doubt, one that told me to look deeper, to consider if this was really a good idea, to ask more questions.

How did I handle it?

With little time to spare and lots of bills to pay, I hastily ignored the twitch and I signed right up.

And…the conference was awful.

The group putting the event together was completely disorganized. They didn’t respond to my emails, had the wrong presentation loaded up on the screen when I got there, and waited until the last minute to book my flight home (positioning me in the dreaded middle seat…which I hate. See my post When Others Tell You Way Too Much).

It wasn’t until I got back home, heavily sighing and more than a bit cranky that I remembered the twitch.

That twitch had been my gut.

That twitch had been a gift.

And I chose to ignore it.

Now, you might be thinking this post doesn’t pertain to you – either because you’ve got this gut thing figured out or because you believe you somehow missed out on the receiving end of this gift altogether.

Either way, I encourage you to stay with me as I present a few quick nuggets on the subject.

In fact, I’m confident your gut is telling you to stay with me.

And that it’s right.

Gut Nugget #1: Just what is our gut?

Our gut is our guiding beacon, the deep signaling system inside us.

It’s a feeling…the one associated with that ever-elusive “sixth sense”, the intuition that steers us toward and, perhaps more often, away from things and people.

Our gut is a gift. It knows things we don’t, senses things about people and opportunities we can’t see on the surface.

It encourages us to do great things. It protects us from problems.

The issue is that we don’t use our gut right.

Some of us don’t know we have it and so don’t access it at all.

Others know it’s there but stubbornly refuse to listen to it…choosing instead to think things out logically, to go with what makes sense, with what we think we should do.

Which we then regret.

To ignore this gift is to ignore a key to happiness in our life…a key that tells us big things like whether or not this is the right job or person for us…and small things like whether or not this is the right blog topic to write. (Seriously, it tells me.)

Gut Nugget #2: Just what does it feel like when our gut is talking to us?

Here’s what I can tell you about my gut…which reflects the same sentiments I’ve heard from others.

When my gut encourages me to do something, when it gives me the proverbial thumbs up, it feels like a casino roulette wheel when that little ball settles into the slot.

Click.

The message? Wonder no more. This is right.

When my gut is steering me away from something, that’s when the twitch happens. It begins, literally, in my gut…but it doesn’t stop there.

It sends a signal of discomfort to my brain, a warning in the form of a doubt. And it’s persistent.

The message? Beware…this might not be what you think. Consider other options.

Gut Nugget #3: How do I get my gut to talk to me?

Sometimes our gut will let us know what it thinks whether we ask it or not…and whether we like it or not.

When that happens we just need to listen to it. Then follow it, despite what our minds, our friends and our cost/benefit analysis all tell us.

Other times we are faced with a dilemma and would love our gut’s opinion.

What then? Follow these steps…

1. Stop thinking logically for a second
2. Take a deep breath
3. Clear your mind (difficult for people like me.)
4. Ask yourself the question
5. Wait for a second (difficult for people like me)
6. Listen with your mind

Did you catch that last step?

Listen with your mind…don’t think with it. This is more passive than active.

You are seeing what pops up for you. It might feel like a fleeting thought will float in, like it might not matter. Pay attention anyway. Then follow the answer.

Not getting an answer?

Don’t just ask the question, but present yourself with both options.  Picture yourself in both situations and with both sets of people. Picture yourself if you go with an opportunity…or pass it up and do your usual thing instead.

See how the two pictures unfold in your mind. See how you feel as you consider each one. Do you feel content? Nervous? Excited? Stressed?

One will feel better to you. That’s probably the one you should go with.

Wrapping it up

Acknowledging and using your gut takes practice.

I practice every day – and often mess it up (which is, remember, how I wound up in the middle airplane seat, exhausted and frustrated).

This week, remember you’ve got a gut. Remember it’s a gift. Practice using it.

I promise you it’s there. I promise you it works. I promise you that you can tap into it more.

I promise you that, when you do, making decisions can get a whole lot easier.

And your day can get a whole lot happier.

Now, go do good…and do it well.