Have you ever asked yourself what you know for sure? I think I know for pretty sure where I’ll be in a year. But then I thought so last year and it didn’t happen because life happened instead. I think I know for pretty sure what I’ll be doing next month… but not completely for sure, for the same reason – life happens.

When I examine what I really know for sure, I know that nothing outside of my choices is certain. The weather, politics, the choices of my loved ones, my health, even my job.

Then I ask myself if I know for sure if I’ve made the right choices. What I’ve discovered is this: the only time I know I’ve made the right choice, for me, is when I follow my gut knowing.

Some wonder what gut knowing really is. It isn’t the lizard brain – that part of us that gets upset and alert whenever we sense danger – real or imagined. That’s our stress-response system going into action. It isn’t anxiety caused by doing something that scares us.

What it is, is that subtle (not strong-that’s our stress-response system) feeling in our solar plexus or some other part of our gut that says “this is good for me” or “this is bad for me”. Most of us have learned over the years to ignore it because it might have been contrary to what our mother or father wanted, or what the teacher or fellow students wanted. But it is the only certain indicator we have because it registers whenever something of value is before us – positive or negative.

When I get a job offer that checks with everything on my desirables list, except that my gut isn’t happy – I’ve learned, over and over, that if I ignore my gut and go with the job, I’ll regret it. If I get a job offer that I decide isn’t exciting but my gut feels pretty good about it, that turns out to be the case – a happy place to work, for me.

When you know for sure about something, there is no risk.

What I know for sure

Quote of the Week

“In order to trust your body as a guide, the first step is to begin to understand it.”
– Deepak Chopra

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Maryanne