Follow Your Gut. It's Never Wrong

Whenever you're faced with a tough decision of any kind, there are typically two key voices that make an appearance. The first is the voice of reason, that immediately tries to find eleven different ways to tell you why you shouldn't be doing something. Maybe it's too hard, for example, or it'll take far too much time. Maybe there's a high chance of failure and that little voice inside your head is telling you to back away quickly, because the ramifications of your decision have the potential to be incredibly painful.

The second voice tends to be a whole lot more succinct than the first. This voice doesn't try to think up a plethora of different reasons why you should or should not make the decision that you now have before you. This voice is incredibly direct and impossibly to-the-point. It simply says "yes" or "no" and checks all of the other baggage at the door.

This is the voice of your gut. You should always make an effort to follow your gut, because it is never, ever wrong.

The Power of Your Subconscious

The voice of your gut will take a number of different names throughout your life. Some people call it your instinct, while others prefer the term "intuition." What your gut really is, however, is the voice of your subconscious brain. Oftentimes the reason why your gut instinct is so strong is because it's your brain getting to the correct answer in a particular scenario before your conscious brain has a chance to realize it.

To simplify this concept down to its core, consider the elementary school level math problem "2 + 2." The moment that you see that problem, the answer flashes into your brain like a bold of lightning: 4. You didn't have to spend time thinking about the problem. You didn't have to show your work, check and recheck your answer or try a few different methods to see if they all arrived at the same solution. You just knew it, as confidently as you know your own name: the answer to "2 + 2" is "4."

In that moment, your subconscious brain arrived at the answer to the problem instantly. Is an elementary school math problem an oversimplification of this process? Perhaps, but the logic behind it is sound: your gut is the voice of your subconscious brain arriving at the correct answer before your conscious brain has had an opportunity to screw it up.

This simple concept is one of the many reasons why you should always follow your gut. This holds true regardless of the gravity of the situation you find yourself in. Whether you're trying to figure out which new car to buy or whether or not to get on a plane to take your first big international trip, you should follow your gut because your gut is never wrong.

The Power of Other People

Another one of the many reasons why you should always follow your gut is because it is yours, plain and simple. It's unfortunately easy to get side tracked with a decision when other peoples ideas start to enter into your mind. Maybe other people are starting to tell you why that trip abroad might be too expensive. Maybe they're telling you that you shouldn't quit your current job to switch fields because you have job security and you're happy in life, albeit technically. All of these other sources of input start to weigh in your mind and only serve to make a decision harder, not easier.

Your gut, on the other hand, is not something that can be silenced by the voices and opinions of others. It is not something that you can reason with. It is not something that you can hide from. It simply is. No matter what type of question you're faced with or situation you find yourself in, if you follow your gut you will not be led astray.