Trust your gut is one of those expressions it took me a long time to embrace. Why? Because I have a great gut and lots of times it tells me things I don’t want to hear. A few years ago though, after I left my marriage, I made a deal with myself: from then on, I’d listen to my gut. I should have listened to it earlier, much earlier, like when my ex and I were dating. It would have saved me a lot of pain and heartache.
We’re all guilty of ignoring our gut – our intuition – from time to time, but I’m here to tell you that’s a bad habit. Have you ever taken a job working for someone you knew, from the moment you sat across from them for the interview, you couldn’t work for? Sure, you were probably thrilled with the salary, but you got “Sunday stomach” seven nights a week. That’s no way to live, and your gut was trying to tell you so from the get-go.
From the moment I met my ex, my “Spidey” sense soared. I thought he was handsome; my gut screamed “looks can be deceiving!” I thought he was generous; my gut hollered “he’s all show!” I thought his teasing was just in fun; my gut said, “this guy’s a bully!” I thought he loved me; my gut said, “oh Susan, he’ll never love anyone but himself.”
Thank goodness it only took two and a half years for me to pull my head out of the sand and admit that my gut, my intuition, my “Spidey” sense, had been spot on from the start.
Like I said, when I left my marriage, I made myself a promise to never, ever ignore my gut again. And you know what happened? Today my gut is so good, I could lend it to people. Seriously. Going on a first date? Take my gut with you. Job interview? Please, bring my gut. Considering moving your kids and spouse to the arctic circle? That’s a big decision. You, my friend, may borrow my gut for a month.
The more we trust our gut – our intuition – the stronger it gets. If you haven’t been doing so, give it a try. My gut says you’ll be happy you did.