Trusting Your Intuition to Tame Overthinking

Let’s get out of our heads and make more moments matter! Few things sap as much joy out of life than overthinking.

As you continue to outsmart worries, assumptions and other needless distractions with your newfound Earned Confidence, you’re ready to use another valuable tool in the battle for better headspace.

Intuition is often described as a gut feeling or sixth sense, but it encompasses more than that and can be an asset in numerous ways.

From my perspective, it’s a guidance system that draws insight from three centers of knowing: the head, the heart, and the gut.

While each contributes differently, they collectively aid several priorities specific to decluttering our minds:?

1) Better Decision-making

2) Healthier relationships

3) Easier Problem-solving

Naturally, these opportunities to tame overthinking all intertwine. For practical purposes, here are some examples of intuition in action.

HEAD-CENTERED INTUITION

A game-changer for me arrived in 2007 in the form of Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking. He made the case that those who trust their gut make at least as good, if not better decisions as those who overthink things.

Supporting this premise is a technique, called “thin-slicing,” to focus on essential data points to overcome analysis paralysis and make more efficient choices that lead to better outcomes.

For example, if you had a decent job that you value for any number of reasons, but the one seemingly unavoidable constant is excessive stress with ruminations that impact your health, that is all you would need to know that you’d be better off with a new job.

HEART-CENTERED INTUITION

Here’s where intuition intersects with emotional intelligence, particularly about relationships.

Continuing with thin-slicing, when it comes to dating, is it really necessary to have an extensive checklist of qualities you seek in a partner?

Instead, try tuning-in to how you feel around others, recognize red flags and be clear about “deal-breakers.” This heightened awareness of triggers and patterns in social interactions also enhances intuition and can guide you toward healthier connections – be they family, friends, coworkers or romantic interests.

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GUT-CENTERED INTUITION

The notion of intuition residing in the gut aligns with the enteric nervous system (ENS), often dubbed the “second brain.” Here’s where 100 million neurons and every class of neurotransmitter intermingle with primal instincts and a lifetime of experiences.

One way intuition might heighten when overthinking is when faced with persistent challenges or stress. It’s hard to ignore feelings of “banging your head against the wall” and “swimming upstream.” These are cues to rely on your intuition to provide immediate guidance.

Instead of overanalyzing, consider your first instinct. In which direction might you change course? Go with that and see how it plays out.

SLEEP ON IT

Practical approaches to aid intuition are a matter of individual preference. Another technique you might find beneficial is to just let go. Most problems aren’t solved with more thinking, they’re solved with less.

Allowing the subconscious to work on complex problems can lead to insights that conscious thinking might miss. Taking time for reflection, silence and sleep can clarify thoughts and intuitive decision-making.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

WHAT NOW?

The most sensible answer depends on your relationship with yourself.

Building a strong connection with intuition requires self-trust, which stems from self-esteem and confidence. Voices of self-doubt, or blame, or judgment can drown out your intuition with second-guessing yourself.

Prioritizing inner work, such as nurturing self-love and practicing self-reflection, can enhance intuition and reduce negative self-talk. Relying on your Earned Confidence is a good place to start.

The more that you love and trust yourself, the more in touch you can become with your intuition, especially to tame overthinking.

LET’s GET PRACTICAL!

Consider some ways to heighten intuition from the three columns below. Select activities that resonate with you from each intuition center and experiment with different exercises that engage your head, heart, and gut. If helpful, keep an intuition journal to track what works best for you.

By honing our intuition, we can trust ourselves more deeply, make better decisions and live more authentically.

As with any ability, developing intuition takes practice and patience but can free your mind and profoundly enrich your life for good.

THE BRIGHT SIDE is a 100% Human-Generated Publication

READERS NOTE:

In fairness, we never went to school to learn how to follow our heart or trust our gut. Other skill-building opportunities to continue to improve your presence, resilience, Happierness and Earned Confidence along with emotional intelligence, energy management, problem-prevention, gratitude practices, self-reflection, empathy, adaptability and mood management, among others, all lie ahead – on THE BRIGHT SIDE.

TBS Issue 5 - Personal Message

I hope you found this week's article enriching and welcome you to spend a few more minutes together to share:

● A personal story about how my mom’s intuition saved my life (book excerpt);

● A few more insights about intuition from the Myers Briggs Foundation; and,

● A gift to celebrate the 4-year LEAP DAY anniversary of publishing Z-isms!

CORRECTION:

An error in Issue 4 stated that the feature article coming [this] week would either focus on “Living More Presently” OR be about the first of 3 filters that shape reality: “Perception is…”. However, I decided that Trusting Your Intuition is more seamless with past topics to hone your Earned Confidence and tame overthinking, which I believe to be the leading cause of unnecessary stress and the biggest diminisher of joy and happiness. As for what topic builds on intuition...

Until next Thursday -

To your HAPPIERNESS!

Author of “Z-isms: Insights to Live By” (free eBook and Audiobook)

Host of “Insights to Live By – The Podcast”

Contact: [email protected]

PAYING IT FORWARD

Please accept my sincerest appreciation for being part of this new endeavor, now with nearly 2,000 subscribers in its first month! My only ask is to consider inviting others you know who will enjoy this content. There's no time like the present to share THE BRIGHT SIDE!

CURRENT PODCAST

EPISODE 109: Practical Productivity with Sarah Ohanesian

If you’re seeking lots of tangible tips to improve productivity and bring more joy to your work, you’ll discovery them in this ‘must listen’ conversation with Sarah Ohanesian, a keynote speaker and the founder of SO Productive. When everything feels urgent and overwhelming, Sarah shares how to get out of survival mode and into greatness. Put another way, she explains how to Command the Chaos to feel accomplished, fulfilled, and joyful every day. Within these insights are sub-topics about avoiding burnout, adapting for neurodiversity and creating space to stay on top of priorities. Note: This episode is for individuals and companies alike.

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HAPPENINGS

THIS WEEK's POLL

Do you routinely devote time for mindset/self-improvement (non-fitness)?

● Matt's interview about "Beating Burnout" is on Stories with Traction, hosted by Matt Zaun

ABOUT: This podcast helps leaders grow their business by persuading their clients and team members, all while having a huge impact on the world around them. As you listen to these episodes, you’ll learn a lot about: storytelling, marketing, sales, company culture, and leadership.

● Interactive WORKSHOP-inars: "Instilling Presence and Resilience with Uncommon Skill-Building Techniques”?

Matt presented this program twice last week to Beacon Philadelphia and the Chicago Organizational Development Practitioners Network. If you would like to view a recording of this presentation, one is available through the Global Institute of Organizational Development (GIODN). However, to participate, you'll need the program activities worksheet. Please email Matt (above) if you'd like him to send you that and the program link to experience it for yourself.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS FOR WORKSHOPS, KEYNOTES AND LEARNING PROGRAMS

● Extinguishing Burnout: Personally and Organizationally

● Recouping Productivity by Taming Overthinking

● Managing Energy Personally, Interpersonally and Universally

● Defeating Depression for Good

● Foundational Skills for Emotional Intelligence

● Honing Your Intuition for Personal Effectiveness

● Living Your Best Life with Happierness

HAVE YOU NOTICED?

It's now FREE to download the Z-isms eBook and audiobook -

"I wrote it to positively impact as many people as possible and invite you to experience it for yourself..."

REVISIT PAST ISSUES

● Issue 1: The 2 Skills to Enrich Your Life for Good

● Issue 2: The Pursuit of Happierness

● Issue 3: The Power of Earned Confidence

● Issue 4: Outsmarting Your Worries and Assumptions

THE ESSENTIALS

Z-isms: The inspirational pearls of wisdom, life lessons or personal experiences people share to positively impact the lives of others; Insights to Live By.

Happierness?: A life-enriching mindset combining presence, resilience and free will to be intentionally present and have a reflex of positivity by choosing to embrace the bright side of every situation.

Earned Confidence: An logic filter based on one’s life experiences that proves it unnecessary to worry, be anxious or make assumptions about uncertainties because one is fully capable to cope with actual occurrences in real time.

Resilience: The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; remain unaffected by insignificant occurrences; adapt to challenges; and, keep things in perspective.

Presence: The conscious state of observing, noticing and/or experiencing life as it happens while remaining free of distraction; intentional engagement to tune-in to the moments that matter.