Intuition or Ego? 3 questions to ask yourself before taking action (or not)
Do you trust your gut? Yes? No?
How is that working out for you?
Have you ever had an idea that seemed to come out of nowhere, and when you acted on it, magic resulted? How about the times when you've thought you were having a gut instinct, acted on it and it was a disaster (and ultimately, yes, a learning experience)?
Sometimes when we act on gut instinct, or intuition, we are listening to our higher self, that knowing that directs us to make decisions even when they seem illogical or even risky. Other times we tell ourselves that we are trusting an intuitive nudge, but deep down, we know we are letting the ego and our fears get the better of us. And then the regret and negative self-talk and small, victim mentality start up.
Just last week I felt an intuitive nudge that I nearly passed-off as "entrepreneur S.O.S." (Shiny Object Syndrome) distraction because I was hell-bent on finishing a blogpost that I left me feeling completely uninspired. Instead of ignoring and plowing-through I paused and reflected for about a minute, and asked myself these 3 questions (Use your thumb for 1, forefinger for 2 and middle finger for 3 so that you really get this into your system)
- What’s up? This will get that monkey in your head to stop dancing and prancing for a moment, and will give you a minute or two to reflect. Simple? Yes. Easy? Hell yes! (Don’t you think enough “life stuff” is hard?)
- Is this distraction/brilliant idea helpful or impeding to my progress (on this thing I’m working on right now)? Be honest. Are you procrastinating or fearful of finishing what you’re currently working on? If not, then quickly make note of your brilliance and say to yourself, “This amazing idea will still be there when I am ready to act on it.”
- What now? Get back to work. Finish the task and then give yourself permission to look at the “sparkly” thing that got your attention. Set a time limit and a timer for 30 minutes. Trust me; when we actually complete things, we create momentum, and with momentum, we feel better, and when we feel better we make better choices.
After reflecting on those questions, I realized that the intuitive nudge was my higher self telling me that the blogpost I was trying to force wasn't tapping into my creativity OR my passion, and so I ditched it and uploaded a previous blog from my website to my LinkedIn Pulse page. What happened after that was, and continues to be, mind-blowing.
The blogpost was featured in the Entrepreneurship & Small Business section of LinkedIn, and the reads, likes and comments went crazy. In the first day, there were over 1,000 reads, and as of this moment while I type this message, there are over 3,200 reads 8 days after posting. Now, you may be wondering why I tell you this, and it's simple: in addition to multiple requests for consults, private messages and kudos, the proof is in the pudding:
I leaned back, examined all that was going on in the moment that I had the thought to post the article, and took a measured risk to scrap what I was doing in order to "do the thing" that was niggling at me.
The moral is this: trust yourself, you know more than you think you do. And be smart about that trust so that you're not allowing your ego to trick you into the self-sabotaging, S.O.S. foolishness that may turn out to be a learning experience, but could also be a time and energy suck. Know the difference.
Is it intuition? Is it procrastination? If you are an entrepreneur, you are probably faced with these moments every single day of your life. Why? Because you are magnificent and creative and gutsy…AND you may sometimes get derailed by distractions and incompletes. Stop that! Give yourself one or two minutes to reflect and get things out of your head when they pop up, then get back to it!
I wish you the best of success as you work your way into knowing when to keep going, listening to real intuitive nudges, and trusting yourself more and more to know the difference. Either way, you will learn something. And sometimes, you will open the door for magic.
Blessings. Gratitude. Love. ~ TLC
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