4 Irrefutable Reasons To Go With Your Gut
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This post was written by guest editor Tess Robinson of Smack Bang Designs.
Do you know what I love more than anything in the world? Being able to blame entirely outrageous emotional reactions on the moon.
Feel like you’ve had a day from hell? Oh, that’s just the eclipse. Got a sudden urge to runaway to a nudist colony? Oh, must be a new moon. Feeling like you wanna stab someone right in the four chambers? Yep, you got it – tonight’s a full moon.
It’s awesome, with one swift sentence we can excuse ourselves completely and thus remove all responsibility from our own actions and emotions by blaming the big ol’ cheeseball in the sky. And according to astrologists all over, it’s totally warranted.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.
In fact, I live my life on the ratio of 80% practicality and 20% woo-woo. It’s a good buffer that I highly recommend. You take responsibility for most of what comes your way, and throw caution to the wind for the other 20% because #theuniverse.
Before you take a firm grip of your mouse and get ready to Fred Flintstone “Yabba Dabba Doooo” right outta here, hear me out.
This is not a blog about tarot cards, full moons, crystal cleanses or saging your inner child. There are plenty of other people in the world (mostly in Bondi) who could write that better than I. It is, however, about finding your way in business using intuition, your gut and just a little sprinkle of fairy dust. I’m all for a little woo-woo, dabble in meditation and worship the gods of chai, incense and manifestation on the reg, but this blog is not the place for that.
I want to talk about my gut.
Going with my gut has been one of my major strengths in building my business. It has led me toward many great decisions, (up until recently I meant that metaphorically, but now at 32 weeks pregnant, my gut literally leads the way in all directions of my life). Tapping in to my inner wisdom and under-analysing most situations has paved the way for more authenticity and greater creativity in my work.
But I’ll admit, it’s wasn’t until the last few years that I’ve really embraced this way of doing business. I used to shy away from it and just pretend like I had all the well-thought out rational reasons for doing things. Like, yes of course, I’d spent hours pouring over a million spreadsheets and complex equations to get the answer I’d actually just pulled right from my backpocket in half a millisecond with the same audacity a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat!
Keywords here: used to.
These days, I fly my intuitive flag with pride. Why? Because I’ve tested the strength of this wand many times now, and let me tell you, it works a charm. And also, because I’ve well and truly come to terms with the fact that although I would love to be, I will never be a left brain rationalist who forms sound decisions based on critical thinking, numbers and analytics.
Let’s face it, Excel is about as dry as my dad’s heels in winter, (Yes, I’ve suggested coconut oil, thanks anyway). The thought of using a spreadsheet or mathematical equation to validate my idea makes my spleen shiver in fear. And as my accountant would attest, asking me to pay attention to anything stats related is like trying to get me to eat an entire raw potato. Doable, but unpleasant in every way. Whilst I know numbers and critical thinking are absolutely necessary to business, and I have to force myself to enjoy it. My natural inclination is to base my decision on a conscious and highly refined accumulation of instinct, intuition and feeling.
To be clear, it’s not that I leave things up to chance, or sit back and hope for the best. Quite the opposite really. I’m big believer in the heady combination of manifestation and hard-freaking-work.
The concept of manifesting tends to be thrown in the hessian basket of ‘new age hippy shit’ for some, but it really is a powerful tool that almost all successful entrepreneurs claim to practice. It’s all about adopting a simple mindset of recognising that the energy attached to our words and stories has a lot to do with what we welcome into our lives. If you want to read more about this from a scientific point of view, read Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza (apologies in advance about that book cover, he’s on my list of ‘Dream Clients Desperately Needing A Makeover’).
My bestie, Sophia Amoruso, recently summed up my thoughts on manifestation exactly, she says;
“If there’s one thing I have learned about manifesting, it’s that it either takes no focus or all focus. Keep your eye on the prize and off the prize. Set it and get it or set it and forget it. Manifesting is a top-down and bottom-up equation. I used to think that it meant just casting a spell and crossing your fingers—and that did seem to work for some time. However, I think that may have been coincidental, because at some point that luck ran out (I think you know what period of my life I’m talking about).
When serendipity happens, we take credit for what we manifested. When our intentions don’t work out, who is there to blame? Surprise! I don’t have the answer to that (please let me know if you do), but one method of insurance is to put effort in. To reverse-engineer the steps—all the way to the first baby step—that it will take to make your dream a reality.”
I’m no expert, I’m no teacher and I’m certainly no spiritual guide, enlightened being or Shaman (although I do think orange drapes look great on me). I’m just a sucker for learning, and I can’t keep what I learn to myself so here are a few ideas I’ve learned along the way about going with your gut. Go on, get out your crystal ball, light some incense and make an intention to trust your deeper waters.
1. Going with your gut is more conducive to creativity.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Excel, Xero and your Google Analytics portal are not where you’ll locate your greatest form of creativity. Your intuition is not the voice of reason, logic, or Excel spreadsheets. Creating space and allowing your mind to wander free and explore is where you’ll come up with the best ideas.
2. Going with your gut cultivates confidence.
Going with your gut is the antithesis of overthinking it. A friend of mine recently told me that she reckons I’m the world’s biggest under-thinker, I’m not sure if she was trying to say I’m a simpleton or just really good at trusting with my gut, but either way I’d have to agree with her. Trusting your instincts takes time and practice, but as you get more accustomed to it, you’ll find the keys to confidence exist in your own inner wisdom, whether you knew it was there or not.
3. Going with your gut makes you more empathetic.
News flash: you’re a human. A real life, walking, talking, emotional, empathetic human being. Do you know what’s great about that? You’re a human who can help solve the problems of other humans. A human who can understand the emotional ups and downs of your customers and use empathy to solve these problems to create a business for yourself. Trusting your instinct is a practice of fine-tuning your empathy, which, in turn, leads to greater awareness of the world around you and it’s problems. Win-win!
4. Going with your gut leads to greater authenticity.
Trusting your instincts forces you to be authentically ‘you’ on every level. By making decisions with your gut, you don’t allow yourself the time to conjure up someone else’s plan or be influenced by someone else’s way of doing things – You do you, boo. And we all know that the best businesses are an extension of the entrepreneurial mind behind them.
About Tess Robinson…
Manning the guns of the Smack Bang studio is Tess. She is all about working hard, avoiding the obvious, barefoot living, seizing the day and leaving on time.
Tess is an ambitious young creative with a strong vision and distinctive creativity. An ideas guru, branding specialist and compulsive maker of things, Tess’ main focus is positive impact.
With her infectious energy and enthusiasm, Tess pours passion into everything she does.
As a talented team of creatives, we love our work, function like a family and are always striving to do good by the world. We are a collective of designers, thinkers and master organisers, each bringing a unique skill set and morning coffee demand to work everyday.
We offer seamless service and strategically sound, creatively inspiring and drool-worthy designs. Our solutions are driven by stories and ideas that look the business.
