{"id":70928,"date":"2022-06-27T12:08:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T16:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=70928"},"modified":"2022-07-20T08:18:18","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T12:18:18","slug":"always-trust-your-instincts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/always-trust-your-instincts\/","title":{"rendered":"Always Trust Your Instincts\u2014You Know Yourself Best"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why is it so important to always trust your instincts? What happens if you don’t listen to your instincts? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tendency to look to others for validation has diminished your ability to tap into your intuition<\/a> and trust your decisions. Author Glennon Doyle explains how you can learn to always trust your instincts through quiet reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to find out why trusting your gut feeling<\/a> is crucial for happiness and learn to recover your capacity for believing your instincts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Embracing Intuition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have learned how embracing emotion and not fearing pain can free you from the limitations of your social conditioning. Now, we\u2019ll explore Doyle\u2019s second pathway towards freedom: embracing your intuition. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always trusting your instincts<\/a> involves being guided by a deep sense of inner truth. <\/strong>When you deeply understand yourself<\/a>, you can make confident decisions. In this section, we will learn about Doyle\u2019s experiences doubting her intuition, what happened when she finally embraced it, and how she developed a method for tapping into her inner knowledge. We will then explore how you can trust your gut<\/a> feeling in your everyday life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doubting Your Intuition <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Doyle observes that women are conditioned to please and seek approval from others<\/strong>\u2014as a result, they don\u2019t always trust their instincts and search externally for advice and validation. Doyle realized this during a crisis in her marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After she became pregnant with her first child, Doyle married the father of her baby, Craig Melton. Several years into their marriage, Craig admitted to having multiple affairs with other women. Doyle had to decide if she wanted to stay in the marriage, and she looked to outside sources for advice. She asked friends, read books, and even consulted Google, but no one could answer her question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doyle realized no one else shared her life experiences, and therefore she had to make this decision by herself. She had to find a way to connect with herself deeply to make decisions based on her inner wisdom and intuition rather than others\u2019 opinions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Damage of Low Self-Confidence in the Workplace<\/strong>

Doyle discusses women\u2019s lack of confidence in the context of their personal lives, but this issue extends much further\u2014many women also experience the negative effects of low self-confidence in the workplace. In The Confidence Code<\/em><\/a>, authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman point out how a woman\u2019s lack of confidence at work and the deferential behaviors they display can result in lower pay, fewer opportunities for advancement, and feelings of inadequacy. Their inclination to distrust their instincts and look to others for validation inhibits their ability to take the sort of confident action<\/a> that would earn respect and rewards in the workplace. 

They suggest that women increase their confidence in the workplace by focusing less on deferential behaviors, such as perfectionism and people-pleasing, and more on action and risk-taking<\/a>. They advocate the \u201cfail fast\u201d approach: taking action on several of your own ideas, expecting some of them to fail<\/a>. Getting used to taking action\u2014and learning not to fear failure\u2014makes women self-reliant and less deferential. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Always Trust Your Instincts to Deeply Connect With Your True Self<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to always trusting your instincts, Doyle realized that she had to make decisions about her marriage that were aligned with her deepest self, but she didn\u2019t know how to access this self. Then she received a card from a friend that encouraged her to become quiet and listen to her inner knowledge. <\/strong>After receiving this message, Doyle felt inspired to take time for reflection in a quiet space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she sat in stillness, Doyle developed a way of accessing her intuition<\/strong>: She \u201csank into\u201d a different version of herself. <\/strong>This deeper version of herself existed on a different level from the self she presented to the world; it was wise, grounded, and full of insight. She felt more focused and aware of her deepest convictions when accessing this deeper self. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also experienced a deep connection with the spiritual core of her being, where she felt a sense of certainty flowing inside of her and a sense of connection<\/a> to a divine presence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she posed a question to this different version of herself, she felt a gentle push toward the right decision and believed that this was her intuition guiding her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different Perspectives on Intuitive Decision Making<\/a><\/strong>

Many agree with Doyle in her claim that relying on your intuition is a great way to make healthy, empowered decisions<\/a>. In The Gifts of Imperfection<\/em><\/a>, Bren\u00e9 Brown encourages intuitive decision-making<\/a> and adds that sometimes your intuition goes beyond telling you the right thing to do to tell you when you don\u2019t have enough information<\/em> to make a decision.<\/a> 

On the other hand, some authors advocate approaches to decision-making that don\u2019t depend on always trusting your instincts\u2014suggesting that incorporating more concrete practices can improve<\/em> your intuitive sense. For example, in Blink<\/em><\/a>, Malcolm Gladwell suggests that you take time to use deliberate thinking in combination with intuitive thinking<\/a>. Deliberate thinking involves gathering facts and acknowledging what you don\u2019t know before making a decision. Carefully thinking through a problem in this way can help you avoid blind spots and biases\u2014laying the groundwork for quick and accurate<\/em> intuitive decision-making when the time is right. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Should You Always Trust Your Instincts in Daily Life<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The practice of tapping into her intuition empowered Doyle to make decisions that aligned with her inner self<\/a>. She no longer felt she had to consult others for advice or validation. Her intuition freed her from being controlled by society\u2019s expectations and empowered her to make her own choices. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When making a difficult decision<\/a>, you can use Doyle\u2019s method for tapping into your intuition<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n