Listening to your gut
How often do you listen to your gut instinct, you know, that inner voice that is telling you something that you feel is right, but your brain (or others) may tell you otherwise? How often do you go out to a restaurant and say “I feel like having XYZ”, you listen to what you gut tells you instead of your brain? There have been three times in my life when I have made major life changing decisions, when I have listened to my gut & not my brain. As a result, my life shifted significantly. One of those decisions is why I am writing to you now.
In 1995, I was working in corporate America and getting a lot of headaches. I had a fairly glamorous job, working in the sporting goods industry and spent time working with professional athletes and major sporting events. I went to the US Open golf & tennis, the Super Bowl, the NBA All Star game, and so many other events. I was on the sidelines of the Rose Bowl when Wisconsin beat Ohio State. I did promotional events with professional athletes. I loved sports so it was a neat job, though I wasn’t fully satisfied. I wondered where my career would take me, and I didn’t want to play the “good old boys’ game” and really hated wearing suits, dresses and high heels every day (yes, I dressed like that all the time!!).
The headaches were annoying, so I started going to a chiropractor, and within a few weeks my headaches were gone. I was shocked, I really thought the headaches were from stress, but I learned they were from subluxation (though stress certainly contributed to it). I loved what this chiropractor was telling me; he said the body had an amazing ability to heal if you remove the nerve interference, correct the spinal problems, and the body will heal. It made so much sense. It was logical. It didn’t involve drugs. I trusted my body.
After a few months of getting adjusted & still complaining about my job, one day this chiropractor suggested I go to chiropractic school. I thought he was crazy! But I took a few weeks to research it, I met with other chiropractors, talked to friends, listened to people, but most of all listened to myself. I felt it was the right thing to do. My parents thought I was a bit crazy. My boyfriend at the time thought I was crazy. My co-workers wondered the same thing. Why would I give up a job to go back to school? I didn’t have support of many people, but you know what? It just felt right. My brain told me otherwise – why give up a career, why go back to school, why get in debt, why start all over? It was a big risk, a big step, but it just felt right. My gut told me “this is what I want to do the rest of my life.” So I listened to my gut, quit my job, took some pre-requisite classes and then moved to Atlanta to start chiropractic college. Four years backwards to move forward. And I did … and I’m so happy and so blessed. It was the best decision. And here I am, 25 years later, now 20 years into business and am loving my career.
I encourage others to listen to their gut, to speak their truth, to not always listen to their brain or what others tell them. Your gut instinct is so powerful and can be life changing IF you listen to it. Don’t be afraid. Trust your body, trust yourself, trust your gut. Sometime ask me about the other life changing decisions I have made when I listened to my gut, not my brain. It’s made a world of difference in my life.
