Have you ever had that gut feeling or gut instinct? Maybe you met someone for the first time and instantly knew you would be friends for life, or felt a nagging feeling of unease about a situation or person?
Your gut instinct or ‘gut feel’ is a physical and emotional reaction you have to the world. It is unique to you, and it is an instinctive internal feeling as opposed to an opinion based on hard facts.
What does gut instinct feel like?
Our gut feel may be different for everyone and can evoke a range of bodily sensations. Some people feel a ‘nudge’ in their belly, others describe gut feelings as a small internal voice.
Our gut can talk to you in many ways including:
1) Goosebumps
2) Butterflies in your stomach
3) Clarity
4) Feelings of unease
5) Feelings of peace and non-resistance
The old saying “trust your gut” refers to trusting these feelings of intuition, often to staying true to yourself and aligning to your own needs and wants.
Your emotional guidance
I strongly believe that our gut feel is the best emotional guidance or internal compass we can ever have, in fact, I rarely make any decisions in my life without first checking in with myself to see how it feels. If my gut tells me that my decision feels good and joyful, I will go for it. However, if my gut feels uneasy, or a decision does not make me feel good, I recognise that this may not be the best option for me to take. A key part of this process is Caring more about how I feel.
When should you trust your gut?
If you would like to practice getting more in touch with your own gut, your own guidance, why not try the following exercises?
1) The next time you need to make a decision, first check in with your body to see how it feels. Does the decision make you feel good? Or does the decision make you feel uneasy? If you are not in a hurry, why not decide to ‘not make a decision’ until it feels good to you?
2) The next time you are doing something you enjoy, maybe a personal happiness preference, notice how your body feels. If your body feels good, this is your body communicating , ‘this feels good, do more of this!’ Learn to tune into this feeling and how your body responds to things that bring you joy. If it feels good, do more of it!
3) Imagine your friend has asked you to go to a party this evening. However, you are tired and just would like a quiet night relaxing. You may feel torn between keeping your friend happy or practising self-care. Check in with your body – how does it feel? If your gut is telling you to stay in and look after yourself, go ahead and cancel on your friend. Your body is telling you to look after your own needs.
Have fun with it!
Have fun tuning into your gut instinct and notice what clarity your emotions give you. This will help you learn when you can trust it.
Northamptonshire based Life Coach
With over 23 years international experience, Lisa Phillips is an award winning Life Coach and Confidence Coach. She is also the author of ‘ The Confidence Coach’ book.
Please contact Lisa for a no-obligation chat.
