Pay attention to your gut feelings, but they may not be saying you what you think they are.

Our whole body, not just our brains, has memory tissue. Pause, close your eyes, and recall a traumatic event. It is likely you will have body memories of what it felt like. Many of these feelings are stored in our gut. This is what gets triggered and sends a danger message to your brain when something (apparently) similar is happening.

The challenge is that the brain is often inaccurate in determining what's truly dangerous. This Ted Talk about physical pain helps explain:

This inaccuracy with interpreting physical pain also applies to emotional pain and gut feelings. What a bummer! We might have excellent memories, and yet we can find ourselves challenged with interpreting them usefully.

So what can we do?

When a gut feeling hits you, pause. Don't take it at face value.
​Allow yourself to open to the feelings that are here.

Allow them to speak to you.
How long have they been living in your body?
How have they been protecting you?
What resources would be helpful for you to work with them?
What other wisdom do they have for you?

Thank them, let them go, and move forward with new clarity in your decision making.

​When we have a bigger idea for life,
Life begins to show up for us.

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