Trusting Your Gut

I saw this recently, and thought it would make a great quote for our weekly connection because of how it encourages us to make our own purposeful decisions as we create our experience of life. While I’m sure that makes sense to many, I think it’s fair to say that this hasn’t always been what we have done. Growing up, for example, I’m guessing that there were many times when we were told to get back in line, do what we were told, don’t make waves, or stand out. Plus, chances are that some inner voice had us conforming with expected norms because we wanted to be accepted by our peers, and all of this, in and of itself, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

However, when that philosophy had or has us ignoring our own thoughts or ideas out of fear that they wouldn’t be accepted, or today, when we find ourselves discounting what we think and feel because it’s not what others believe is the right thing to do, this can be a problem that gets in the way of our happiness and success.

In many ways, Steve Jobs is a great example of someone who marched to the beat of his own drummer. In his role as CEO of Apple, he didn’t just replicate what everyone else was producing in the way of personal computers, mp3 players, and phones. He trusted his belief that there was a better way, and his “think different” campaign became a rallying cry for those who also believed that in order to innovate, you have to go beyond just improving on what already exists.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we should always reject common thinking. Instead, we should always challenge ourselves to ensure we are bringing our unique perspective to life, and trust what resonates with us, because what the world doesn’t need is people who simply follow the crowd, or as this week’s quote says, the “masses,” because sometimes the “m” is silent. History is full of examples of ideas and practices that were considered normal, later turning out to be really bad ideas.

Therefore, if creating the life you want is important to you, I suggest you always make room for your own voice, or what resonates with you. This way, even if that voice turns out to be wrong, we can rethink and choose again based not on what everybody else thinks, but on who we are, what we have learned, and what we would teach and/or recommend to those we love.

Of course, for those of you who follow my “Life from the Top of the Mind” philosophy, you know that this ability to trust what we think comes from the clear, confident, creative part of the brain. While, the tendency to follow the crowd out of fear of being different comes from the reactive brain, or the lower 20%, which is responsible for fight or flight. I have the pleasure of traveling around the world teaching people how to access this creative, “top of the mind” thinking, even in the most difficult situations. If you would like me to teach you, and/or those in your organization how to access your confidence and creativity so that you know when to replicate and when to innovate, feel free to contact me. I promise you it will be different from anything you have ever heard.