What It Really Means to "Go With Your Gut"

I truly think so many negatives in our lives, particularly stress and burn out, are symptoms of another issue — resistance. 

I used to be constantly stressed out. I didn’t realize it though. Honestly, I was too busy to notice I was stressed out! But, the busyness caught up with me and suddenly I was burnt out. My internal reserves for creativity were deplete. So, I decided I needed to go to design school, for some external direction. 

Polimoda, the design school I attended in Italy, was really about the process, capturing a moment in time. In order to discover the essence of your design, you first had to slow down and discover what you stood for, what, exactly, your mark would be. That was all well and good, but mid-way through the program I still wasn’t where I wanted to be, nor was I receiving the feedback from my professors that I really wanted. Why? I was still resisting something.

Half way through my time at Polimoda I had a break down moment. I was with my health coach, and it hit me: I’ve never listened to my gut. I’ve always moved forward, rushing after what I’m told to do, expected to do, while completely neglecting what my heart wants to do! What Polimoda stood for, the process, slowing down in order to discover what I stood for and what I wanted, that foundational wisdom I completely ignored! 

I always had two professors at Polimoda, two professors with two completely different opinions. At this midway point, pulled between two different sets of external instructions, I decided I was going to start creating what I wanted to create, not what I should create. And you know what? Once I did that, I started getting good feedback!

Once I started listening to my gut, an entire shift started occurring in my every day life. Things just naturally started coming together. Things don’t feel hard anymore, because I’m no longer pushing against a hard wall of resistance! Even finding and claiming trademarks for my new business became easier! I’ve even started water coloring again. I hadn’t done that since I was a child! Now that I’ve slowed down, I’ve found time for things that are cathartic, calming and, most of all, creative!

So many of us operate from “shoulds.” This New Year, my hope for you is to become bold enough to trust your gut, your intuition. Slow down for a little bit, and I PROMISE, the floods of creativity will rush in!