We’ve all experienced those moments—the ones where we feel like we’re at a crucial crossroads. Take, for example, that moment when you’re debating whether to take Path A or Path B, and this deep feeling (instinct, inner voice, butterflies, etc.) within you is telling you to go with Path A, but at the very last minute, you switch and go with Path B. After taking that road, you realize in retrospect you should have listened to your inner voice and gone with your first choice of Path A. While this scenario could have played out in any number of ways, you know something within you, perhaps your gut knew what was the right choice for you.
As the years go by, these choices keep cropping up (hey, it’s just part of life), but by now I’ve learned to listen to my gut. Aside from helping me through life’s decisions, I listen to it daily whenever there’s a consistent flow of communication—especially after eating, snacking, or a drink. Am I weird for doing this? Not so much, turns out. Your “gut voice” can often steer you in the right direction for all the things mentioned above because your digestive system is like a second brain.
Another instance in which I tuned into my gut was when I went out to dinner with some friends and family. I remember being overjoyed by the prospect of spending quality time with them given the challenges of the pandemic. After perusing the items on the menu, I decided to go with a big meal, which is out of the ordinary for me. Meanwhile, my gut told me to “take it easy and don’t go overboard.” Well, instead of listening to my gut, I started adding this and that to my plate, enjoying a hearty amount of drinks (who can forget about the drinks!) without a care in the world. Not twenty minutes after my meal, I began to feel extremely full and bloated. Talk about being uncomfortable! Here I was trying to enjoy my time with my friends and family after so many months apart, and now all I could focus on was how terrible I felt. I ended up raising the white flag and telling my wife that I needed to go home, because at that point the discomfort was unbearable, almost as if I couldn’t breathe.
The lesson learned here is that our gut is constantly communicating with us. We need to learn to tune into it and follow its advice. We can all be in a better and healthier place if we just listen to our gut.
As the years go by, these choices keep cropping up (hey, it’s just part of life), but by now I’ve learned to listen to my gut. Aside from helping me through life’s decisions, I listen to it daily whenever there’s a consistent flow of communication—especially after eating, snacking, or a drink. Am I weird for doing this? Not so much, turns out. Your “gut voice” can often steer you in the right direction for all the things mentioned above because your digestive system is like a second brain.
Another instance in which I tuned into my gut was when I went out to dinner with some friends and family. I remember being overjoyed by the prospect of spending quality time with them given the challenges of the pandemic. After perusing the items on the menu, I decided to go with a big meal, which is out of the ordinary for me. Meanwhile, my gut told me to “take it easy and don’t go overboard.” Well, instead of listening to my gut, I started adding this and that to my plate, enjoying a hearty amount of drinks (who can forget about the drinks!) without a care in the world. Not twenty minutes after my meal, I began to feel extremely full and bloated. Talk about being uncomfortable! Here I was trying to enjoy my time with my friends and family after so many months apart, and now all I could focus on was how terrible I felt. I ended up raising the white flag and telling my wife that I needed to go home, because at that point the discomfort was unbearable, almost as if I couldn’t breathe.
The lesson learned here is that our gut is constantly communicating with us. We need to learn to tune into it and follow its advice. We can all be in a better and healthier place if we just listen to our gut.