I think one of the best (and rarest) feelings in the world is knowing youâre doing something that feels right.
Most of the time weâre taught to mistrust our gut: what feels good isnât necessarily good for you, whatâs painful isnât necessarily bad. And I agree to some extent, for example, itâs a good idea to delay gratification to achieve certain results. But I also think we collectively pay too much attention to what looks good rather than what feeds our soul, what we think weâre supposed to do rather than what we actually want to do. So maybe paying attention to that fluffy indicator, what feels right, is actually pretty important.
I really really respect people who are good at listening to their gut instincts, who are in tune with what feels right and chart their actions accordingly. Most of us are stuck twisting helplessly in that little gap between knowing what feels right and actually doing anything to progress towards it. Most of us hide from what we actually want: disguise it as something else, rote-perform things like little successful robots. Fit ourselves into boxes of other peopleâs making. We rationalize our way into doing things because of what they represent: prestige, status, beauty. What I realized recently is this: at the end of the day, even if you have everything you *should* want, you can still feel misaligned. Then what? Then youâre forced into finally listening to what the gut instinct has been telling you all along: youâve been climbing up the wrong hill.
Gut feelings are relevant for relationships too. For example, âgood on paperâ friendships or romantic partnerships can sometimes feel wrong and you canât contort or squirm or decision-tree your way into making that particular connection feel right. The opposite is also true. True resonance between the right people has its own language. Itâs incredibly effortless, a warm glow of energy they give you. Some people you canât help but love. You canât resist being a moth drawn to a flame. Something in you just knows:Â these are my people, this is my person.Â
On the whole, my hot take is that the gut instinct (good or bad) is something to be honored. Practice listening closely to it a lot more because itâll tell you exactly what you need. If youâre pulled to do something, fascinated by something, you should probably follow your inclination toward it. Stop yanking yourself away from things that feel right to you just because they are unexplainable to anyone else. On the flip side, stop staying in things that intuitively feel wrong just because they logically feel good.
âIf you get close to what you love, who you are is revealed to you, and it expandsâ â Ethan Hawke
I love this quote. When you inch closer to alignment with your true needs, the result is expansive, not diminutive. Your whole world opens up. Intuitive freedom is allowing yourself to move with your emotions rather than against them. And emotional resonance can come from very unexpected places if you allow your internal compass to guide you. Maybe, just maybe, you donât have to fight the feeling all the time.
Some other things Iâve been thinking about
This idea of surrounding yourself with people who are âfree in ways you are notâ from a 2014 post by Ribbonfarm, shared by Patricia Mou from Wellness Wisdom:
A lot of my friends are âfreeâ in ways that I am not and therefore they inspire me to grow and change. A relevant quote I immediately thought of is from an unknown author (Iâve had this quote saved for like a year and can finally use it):
âRelishing the company of people who sometimes make you feel, by comparison, uninformed, closed to new ideas, disordered, defensive, rigid, fearful, unambitious is an acquired skill. It kicks up shame. It humbles you. It dares you to grow.â
And sharing a moment from this past brief and gorgeous weekend (biiig SF fan)
Anyways, hope you all have a beautiful week. Thank you for reading.
this is an outstanding piece of writing. says everything you need to say, in the right amount of words, with the right amount of quotes, examples, and prongs to the article. truly enjoyed this so much. thank you for writing <3 you inspire me!
This couldn't be more relevant to me right now. Thanks for writing this, read it like four times!