How to make a sound decision
Typically when you are faced with making a decision - the general consensus is to make a pros and cons list. This is the process of identifying the benefits (pros) of potentially making a specific change, what it will add to your life, and how that will make things better going forward. Equally important is identifying the obstacles and negative aspects (cons) of such a decision, what might not be in your own or others best interest. It can be as simple as noticing what side of your pro/con list has more items and weight to make a decision.
However, there are times in life when you could make a choice and the pros line up in your favor, but there is that little tug on your awareness that maybe this might not be such a good idea.
What is that tug?
Why does it seem to be messing with your good thing?
Many times we choose to ignore that little tug and move forward. Sometimes with no ill effect, but other times we discover somewhere down the road that maybe we should have paid attention after all.
That still small voice, tug, twinge is your intuition trying to signal you to pay attention and sit with an idea/situation, a little while longer. Occasionally, I hear folks say, “I wish I would have followed through with that little nudge the moment it showed up, but I thought I knew better.”
We have been trained to trust intellect, rationality, and realism above all other forms of knowing. After all, isn’t it 12+ years of education that has taught us to look for the “right” answer, the certain choice? It feels counter to our training to subjugate our process to something more nebulous, less concrete but still spookily correct. (It’s scary to trust a gut feeling or our heart’s wisdom - there are no databases to factor in or guidelines to make sure we don’t make a mistake).
If you’re tired of making choices that seem to be intellectually correct, but lacking a joy or spirit or worse yet decisions that have significant negative consequences - I encourage you to try something new and see if it doesn’t make decision making a little bit easier and a lot more connected and fun! Our bodies are designed for survival. Usually our being wants to make the right choice doesn’t it make sense to include all of our being- body, mind, soul, emotions - in the decision making process?
Try this:
Next time someone asks you to volunteer to do something, NOTICE your reaction. This reaction should include not only your thoughts about the invitation, but also your bodily response and your emotional reaction. In fact, our intuition and bodies are so aligned for our own good, that they process information much faster than our cognition does.
Which body response signals NO and which is YES?
If we’re honest we might notice that our body responds by tightening, holding our breath, drawing ourselves in toward the midline, guarding, shrinking or hiding. It can be visible movements or subtle ones. This is your body giving you valuable information. And to make a sound decision, it behooves you to pay attention to this information and factor it into your decision making process.
It is also possible that your body might stand taller, shoulders go back, breath becomes deeper and freer, there is a sigh or relaxation response. Others might experience a sense of expansion, creativity, and tingling energy upon receiving an invitation for an opportunity. Once again your body is giving you important information that needs to be acknowledged for a sound decision to be made.
With practice tuning into your body, you will get better at reading it for valuable information. What is your body trying to tell you? As odd as that question might sound, I dare you to try asking yourself what it is signaling to you!! You might be pleasantly surprised.
Body what are you trying to tell me?
If you’re struggling to make sense of your built in decision making sensors, let’s make an appointment to talk. You can learn how to do this. It just takes a little intention and guidance.
“That still small voice is your intuition trying to tug, nudge or get your attention to slow down and sit with an idea or situation a little while longer. ”