Listen to Your Gut

 It’s ALWAYS Right

By Mary R. Dittman, M.B.A.

In the TV show, “Scandal,” Olivia Pope used to brag that she trusted her gut because it was never wrong.

The good news is, gut accuracy isn’t a trait reserved for fictional heroines or “lucky” women.

We ALL have intuition that exists to serve us - men have it, but women are able to access our intuition more quickly.  Our problem is that we will frequently talk ourselves out of listening because sometimes our gut’s direction doesn’t make logical sense, or we feel “mean” about following it.

There’s a line in Girl With the Dragon Tattoo that goes something like, “People are more worried about offending someone else than they are about their own safety.”  The consequences of that can be deadly, and not just in the movies.

Whenever I have ignored my gut, I regretted it.  Every.  Single.  Time.  At work, in relationships, in friendships, with family, with my health.

Maybe intuition has a spiritual component.  Some people say it’s the Holy Spirit or your Higher Self directing you.  But even if you don’t believe that, it could be a higher brain function - your brain is constantly taking in information that you are not consciously aware of.  Intuition could be your brain putting together the signals you’re missing as a way to warn or guide you.

Either way - your intuition always serves to protect you.

The little comments that hit you sideways, the fleeting look you observed (those are called “microexpressions” and they are completely involuntary “tells” of people’s true feelings and motives).  The feeling you had that “something was off” or “things just didn’t add up.”  All of those instances are your intuition sending you a message.

What’s so disconcerting is that, many times, your gut doesn’t make logical sense.

One time, I was working with a client (I do marketing consulting work).  I met with a man who had been hired by one of our partners in town to produce a newsletter.  Outsourcing newsletters is a good idea - I have worked with these agencies in the past, so the situation itself was no cause for alarm.  The partner business is highly reputable and is owned by one of the best businesspeople in town, someone I have a tremendous amount of respect for.  We purchased advertising, but I really had a negative attitude about the man I was working with.

I chastised myself, “Why do I have to be such a b——?  What’s wrong with me?  Geez, he’s just doing his job!  I need to chill out.”

A few months later my contract had ended, and I asked the marketing manager for a copy of the ad in the newsletter for my portfolio.  She informed me that “the guy” had taken everybody’s money and absconded with it.  He was still in the wind.

I knew it!  But I ignored it.  If I had trusted my gut, I could have possibly saved my client thousands of dollars.  True, they may have dismissed my concerns and lost the money anyway, but I would have had the satisfaction of knowing I spoke up.

There have been many relationships where red flags were presented as early as the first two dates, but I ignored or rationalized them, which set me up for months and years of heartache.

Ladies, we must trust our intuition.

What if I had voiced my concerns to my client, and they had fired me for a negative attitude?  Yes, I would have lost income, but they could have been more likely to bring me back when they saw I was right and could have saved them money!

What if you say no to lunch with a man who gives you the creeps?  Could you be missing out on your soulmate?  Possibly.  But why would your true soulmate give you a gut-level bad feeling?

I have found that “baseless” gut feelings are actually the most accurate.  Nobody will ever fault you for passing on something that gives you a bad feeling.  And if they do, THAT’s a red flag!

Notice in “Scandal” that Olivia started getting into trouble when she STOPPED listening to her gut!

Part of living a One-Derful Life is trusting yourself and having confidence in your decisions.  You build trust and confidence by listening to your intuition and following your gut instincts.

Failure to follow my intuition has lead me to a lot of heartache.  If you’re currently struggling with a broken heart, check out our ABC’s of Healing - this free video will show you how to move on from the pain so you get back to feeling good.

Question: Have you learned to follow your gut?