What I have had time to do, though, is sit with each to see how I felt about it…and due to the time constraints, I’ve had to let my body by my guide.
The body awareness started earlier in the week after Mr. Universe and I had a fight. Yes, we argue…his name is Mr. Universe, not Mr. Perfect afterall. Anyway, we’d gotten into a disagreement that had carried over to the next morning. So I did what I always resort to when I’m unclear about something, I worked out. Sometimes that means yoga and other times it means running. On this particular morning, I decided to run.
I needed to run. I wanted to run. But as I started, I couldn’t bring my body to cooperate. I felt heavy…too heavy to move my legs into a jog. So I listened to it and walked. Then the tears came…not a flood, more of a trickle…but enough that running wouldn’t have been possible. When they passed, I felt just enough of a release to give running a try.
It wasn’t pretty and it didn’t feel…normal. I felt off…I always feel off when I’m arguing with someone because anger is not a natural state I want to exist in so it throws everything out of whack.
Becoming aware of this was important given the important decisions I needed to make. Without purposefully realizing it, I started to sit with the various scenarios…seeing how each one felt. There wasn’t a significant difference between the two which told me that whatever I decided would be ok.
So I asked myself which situation would offer the most growth…where could I learn new lessons…experience new, healthy challenges? That was it! Immediately I knew what I needed to do…which I’ll share in coming days (damn cliff hangers).
It was a valuable lesson and reminded me of how easy life…or at least the decision making process…can really be if we just listen for the right cues…if we allow ourselves to feel our way through it.
Feeling our way through a board room meeting doesn’t sound as PC as spending hours…maybe days…preparing, but I bet finding a better balance will yield similar – or better – results. How many times have you heard people say that they went with their gut…or worse, that they should have trusted their gut? It’s because our bodies hold the answers…the plan…the playbook…for our life.
So when you get that “nagging” feeling in your stomach, stop and listen to it. Specifically focus on what you our thinking and then tune into what your body is saying. I bet it’s giving you good advice.