What happens when…

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you have probably heard me talk about inner authority (AKA gut feelings). I wanted to share with you a couple recent stories that show what happens when you trust these gut feelings and when you don’t listen.

Pushing it down

My boyfriend, Tim, and I took a road trip this month through southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. The first night we stayed in Ouray, CO. Before we left our house, I had this nagging feeling that we shouldn’t be driving in the dark. 

I attributed it to being paranoid, though, rather than listening to it. 

Leaving at 5:30 pm in the dark, we first stopped in Glenwood Springs to get gas and food. At the Conoco station, the sensor on the gas pump must have been broken, because gas poured out of the tank all over the ground for several minutes before we noticed. 

I thought, “Uh oh, this isn’t a good sign. Maybe we should just turn around and go home.” 

But I didn’t want to be negative, so I kept my mouth shut.

Back on the road twenty minutes later, Tim saw an enormous elk standing majestically on the side of the highway. It startled him, and I took it to be another omen for an event to come. 

Sure enough, about 15 miles from Ouray, we tragically hit a deer. As we were waiting for the police to come and help the deer pass on, I mentioned to Tim that I had a bad feeling earlier that day. 

He said, “You should have told me before we left!”

He’s been around me long enough to know that gut feelings are to be trusted.

Luckily, there was minimal damage to the truck and the rest of the trip was really good. But we sure as heck paid attention any time either of us got a nudge from our inner compass. 

Logic vs. Intuition

Immediately upon returning from our vacation, Tim and I both got super sick with a cold and fever. I was dealing with it for 2 weeks, and figured it would be gone by the time the Ladies Hike rolled around on Saturday. 

I was wrong. 

Feeling fatigued and having a constant cough, I was still debating with myself that morning about going for the hike. My inner authority was screaming at me that it was a bad idea, but my head kept thinking about the FOMO (fear of missing out). 

Usually in this kind of situation, I recommend listening to your gut and not worrying about the logic. But as the hike “host”, I felt like I had a responsibility to be there. 

I felt like I had to get to the logic to give myself peace of mind. 

To find the logic, I decided to make a “what’s the worst that could happen” list. 

If I go on the hike, what could happen? I could: pass out, be too slow for the group, gross everyone out, fall and hurt myself, or set myself back 2 more weeks because I overdid it. 

If I don’t go, what could happen? I won’t see the beauty of nature, I won’t get exercise, or worst of all, the ladies might decide they’re better off without me and start their own hiking group.

Needless to say, my fears of injuring myself won out over my paranoid fears of missing out. 

When I let the ladies know, they were gracious and understanding. They had an amazing time on the hike, and even went shopping and grabbed lunch afterwards.

Was I sad I couldn’t go? Yes. 

But they sent me photos and I still felt the love. Best of all, I was able to rest and feel the relief knowing I did the right thing. Heck, it took every ounce of strength to walk my dogs for 10 minutes later on that day. So yeah, I definitely could not have hiked.

rusting your own guidance

Sometimes our inner authority guides us to a decision that we aren’t so happy about in the moment. But hopefully you see here from these two stories that the end result is much better when we listen to it closely. 

If you need help tuning in to your own inner guidance, check out this blog.

You can use your inner authority (listening to your gut) for any decisions you make, including your holiday plans.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

P.S. If you want to learn how to use your inner authority to guide you, even in finding joy and relationships, send me a note.