When You Know, You Know

 A question that often comes up in coaching sessions centres on knowing when to make a change.  I am someone who likes to believe they have a good sense of future outcomes and some sort of control over how things will work out.  Yes, I realize that this is not the case at all, and yet it is something I tend to cling to.  What this futile belief results in is "analysis paralysis" or inaction due to the sense of overwhelm that comes with potentially making the wrong decision. 

It's not that a decision can't be undone and a new choice made in its place; it's that I often feel uncomfortable with the idea of needing to go through that process.  A coach once likened life to walking in a forest and needing to choose the trails we take on our journey.  She asked me how far down a wrong path I would go before turning around and retracing my steps.  In this scenario, I knew that I wouldn't allow myself to go too far before making the decision to try a new direction.  If that was the case in this circumstance, what was preventing me from granting myself the same grace outside of a forest?

The more I think about this, the more I come to realize it's a case of not fully trusting my ability to know when to say when and admit that I need to reevaluate my situation. It's hard to lean on your intuition when it's leading you away from what you believed was your true north, toward a point that you had never considered before.  And yet, our intuition is often the most trustworthy and accurate navigation tool that we possess. 

I'm starting to come to a place in my life where I am reminding myself that when my intuition gives me a full-body yes or no, that feeling is my answer.  I know that when I follow that deep feeling, I am more often than not guided toward actions, people, and next steps that are directly aligned with who I am and truly resonate with me.  Not necessarily the most popular, sexy, or trending actions others may be taking; the ones that, deep down, I know I need to take to stay true to myself and my highest good.