Knowing when to fold…. A lesson on Intuition

 

 

When do you know it’s time to walk away from something?

Anything. A job, a person, a situation….

How many of us have gotten ourselves into “situations” where we saw red flags and went charging towards them anyway? You tried to argue with your intuition and did something that deep down you knew wasn’t going to turn out well. And not only that, but you ended up staying with this situation far past its expiration date..

Don’t worry, we have all done it, nothing to be ashamed of here. These are the stories of your life that are usually rich in lessons and learnings.

Sometimes we get “lucky” and life makes it easy for us because some big event happens that we can’t argue with that forces us in to action. But sometimes things aren’t so black and white. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that are more “grey”. In these grey situations, there are things about them that are good and things about them that are not so good. That is where it gets tricky and we start rationalizing why something is good for us.  Here’s the thing.

You have the answers already. You already know what you should do. 

Really, it’s  just a matter of listening to your intuition and figuring out your plan of action.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself about that “thing” you are struggling with :

What do you want?

What do you reaaaallly want? What is your desired outcome from this “thing”? Maybe this is a stepping stone to a grander goal for you, if so carry on. Get clear on what is really at stake for you here.

What do you already know?

List out the facts and the hard data that you do know today. The pros and the cons. The feelings that this thing makes you feel and the impact for better or worse that it’s having on your life. Check in with yourself around if this is honoring your values or not. Does it support your purpose?

What other information do you need to make a decision either way?

Now that you have listed the facts of the matter, it’s time to take stock of what else you need to know before you act. What other facts or details do you need to know before you can make a decision?

Now what?

Keep in mind that there are many times in life that we are going to have to make decisions with incomplete information. Whether or not you are ready to take action around this, by this point you should at least be more clear on what needs to happen. During this inquiry you may have found that there are conversations you need to have with others involved to get clarity and information.

 

As a coach, my stance is that you already know the answers. I’m just your guide and soundboard to get to them. You will never know my opinion on your situation as that is not my job. I’m not an advice giver and I have no attachment to your outcome. Oh and I knooowww, it would be so much easier if we could just pay someone to tell us what to do all the time! But the truth is no one knows better than you what you need to do. Trust that, trust yourself and trust that when you listen to your intuition, you will never be wrong.