As a business owner, we are constantly torn between what we think we should do and what the next “right” step is. We feel pressure to make perfect moves, stay lean, and grow linearly. But the reality is growth isn’t linear, we don’t know all the answers, and the most powerful guidance tool isn’t a new strategy or podcast episode. It lives inside you: your gut.
A Back Story
Recently, I was reminded of something:
Removing yourself from an environment that isn’t serving you is the most powerful thing you can do for yourself.
When you step away from what’s holding you back, keeping you small and draining your energy, everything begins to change. Growth, healing, and clarity come when you give yourself the space to breathe.
Just like our bodies heal when we remove a stressor, our minds do too.
The Problem
How do we know when it’s time for the next step? When to pivot? When to stay?
Sometimes we doubt every single decision. We question whether we’re being ungrateful, if we’re overreacting, or if we should just “stick it out”.
All this questioning, while ignoring our gut whispering the answer.
Plot twist: I am not speaking only about entrepreneurship.
The Truth
Trust your gut! It is rarely loud, but it is always persistent, and it is always right.
When you feel something is off, trust it. When you feel like it’s time to move on, do it! Don’t ignore your gut feelings; remember, it’s your own wisdom trying to guide you.
Mine has warned me long before I made major decisions. But I doubted myself. I tried to settle, be thankful for what I had, and try to convince myself that it was okay to be uncomfortable. Until I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
I’m not grateful for my bitter experiences. I wish some of them never happened. But they forced movement. They pushed me to leap when I would otherwise stay stuck. They made me so uncomfortable that I had to figure something else out entirely. And this did not happen only once.
Every time I’ve grown, it started with discomfort. And I always ended up trusting my gut feeling.
Your Gut Is Real
Science calls it the “second brain”. It’s a real thing! There are a lot of biological networks constantly communicating between your brain and your digestive system.
I know, it gets tricky. How do you know if it’s fear and anxiety, or intuition from your gut?
Confession: I am still having a hard time differentiating between them. So here is what helps me, and perhaps it can help you, too. I make decisions faster. The quicker I test, the quicker I learn. If it works, yay! If it doesn’t, I’ll adjust.
I once heard Steve Barlett explain that there are two types of decisions.
Type 1: big, irreversible decisions.
Type 2: reversible, testable decisions.
So when fear shows up, I ask myself: “Is this something I can test and pivot from? Or will this permanently alter the course of my life?”
On Type 2 decisions, which are the bulk of our daily life, career, and business decisions, I try to move quickly. Being clear and confident comes from action, not overthinking. Overthinking stalls us and keeps us small and inexperienced.
Redefining Failure
Another thing I do is adjust my mindset about failure. Because if I am testing more, it is only natural that I encounter more failed attempts. So failure doesn’t carry that much weight anymore. I actually look forward to knowing if something failed because it means that’s not the way, and I start discarding my options quicker, and arrive at what works faster.
Following your gut can speed up that process, and when in doubt, always try it out. I believe our intuition sharpens the more we use it.
Trust your gut. It already knows.
At the end of the day, this cookie company started because I listened to my gut. Not because I had certainty or a perfect plan, but because something in me said to try. And I’m still practicing that every day.