78. Intuition vs. Anxiety: How to Trust Your Gut and Make Better Decisions (Self-Trust Series Part 2)
How often do you ignore that quiet knowing inside you, only to realize later it was right all along? That inner guidance—the signals your body and nervous system send—is smarter than you think. Ignoring it keeps you stuck making decisions with incomplete information, second-guessing yourself, and relying on logic alone.
In this episode, we dive into why your gut processes information faster, deeper, and more accurately than your conscious mind. We unpack the science behind your "gut brain," explain why intuition is informational rather than emotional, and show you how to distinguish between anxiety and authentic gut guidance. This isn’t about choosing feelings over facts, but about reclaiming the part of you that already knows what’s right.
You’ll walk away with practical ways to recognize your authentic voice, notice the difference between anxiety and intuition, and start making decisions that align with your values and whole self. We share actionable strategies for practicing somatic awareness, journaling gut instincts, and integrating analytical thinking with intuitive knowing so your decisions actually work long-term.
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What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
How your gut brain processes subtle cues your conscious mind can’t see.
The key differences between anxiety and intuition.
Why rational decision-making often overlooks alignment and values.
How to distinguish your authentic gut voice from external expectations.
Integrating analytical thinking and intuition for smarter decision-making.
Why trusting your gut leads to faster, more effective decisions.
Simple practices like body scanning and keeping a gut feeling journal to rebuild self-trust.
Listen to the Full Episode:
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Full Episode Transcript:
Kelle: Think about the last time that you had a gut feeling about someone or something and talked yourself out of it.
Nina: Yeah, maybe you met someone and immediately felt off about them, but they seemed perfectly nice on paper, so you ignored your instincts, right? Maybe you walked into a job interview and your gut said, "This is not for me." But the role looked pretty perfect on LinkedIn, so you dismissed the feeling.
Kelle: Then, months later, you found out your gut was right all along.
Nina: Here's what we've been programmed to believe: only logical, rational, provable thoughts count. Gut feelings are just anxiety or fear. Smart people make decisions based on facts, not feelings.
Kelle: That's keeping you stuck, making decisions with incomplete information.
Nina: Your gut isn't emotional; it's informational. It's your nervous system's rapid assessment of safety, alignment, and truth based on information you're not consciously even processing yet.
Kelle: Yeah, welcome to part two of our trust series. We'll uncover how to distinguish between anxiety and intuition, why rational decision-making often misses crucial information, and how to start rebuilding trust in your internal guidance system.
Nina: Because the most successful people don't just trust logic, they trust information that others can't see yet.
Kelle: Yeah, ready to stop dismissing the smartest part of you? Let's go.
This is Ambitious-ish. Burnout? Check. Daily overwhelm? Check. Resentment rash, stress, and a complete lack of well-being? Check, check, check! You’re not alone. We’re your hosts, Kelle & Nina, and we are here to help you feel calm, balanced, and empowered so you can redefine success, make choices that feel authentic, and ACTUALLY enjoy the life you work so hard to create. You ready? Let’s go.
Kelle: Hey, I'm Kelle.
Nina: And I'm Nina. And today we're talking about something that might just change how you make every decision for the rest of your life.
Kelle: Yes, this is part two of our self-trust mini-series, and we're talking about something you've probably been trained to ignore: your gut instincts.
Nina: Because here's what we've discovered after coaching hundreds of ambitious women just like you: you already know what you need to know. The problem isn't that you don't have good instincts; it's that you've been programmed not to trust them.
Kelle: Yeah, today we're talking about why your gut knows before your brain does, how to distinguish between anxiety and intuition, and why rational decision-making often ignores the most important information.
Nina: So buckle up because we're about to challenge everything you've been taught about how smart people make decisions.
Kelle: Nina, let's start with some truth-telling here, okay? When's the last time you had a gut feeling about something, a person, a job, a situation, anything, but you talked yourself out of it because you couldn't prove why you felt that way?
Nina: Yeah, right? Maybe you met someone and immediately felt off about them, but they seemed perfectly nice on paper, so you ignored your instincts.
Kelle: Yeah, maybe you walked into a job interview and your gut said, "Nope, this isn't right." But the role looked perfect on LinkedIn, so you dismissed the feeling.
Nina: Yeah, maybe you were in a relationship and something just felt wrong, but you couldn't put your finger on what, so you told yourself you were being paranoid.
Kelle: And then months later, you found your gut was right. That person was untrustworthy. That job was toxic. The relationship was wrong for you.
Nina: But instead of learning to trust your instincts more, you probably thought, "I should have seen the signs," as if your gut feeling wasn't a sign, right?
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. Here's what we want you to understand: your gut doesn't operate on the same timeline as your brain. It processes information faster, deeper, and more accurately than your conscious mind does.
Nina: Yeah, you literally have a gut brain, right, Kel? I mean, we have a cerebral, like a head brain, and we have a gut brain. This is science. Your gut is constantly reading microexpressions, right? Like energy patterns, environmental cues, and information your conscious brain hasn't even noticed yet.
Kelle: Yes, but we have been taught that only logical, rational, provable thoughts count, right? That feelings are unreliable, that gut instincts are just anxiety or fear. And that programming, it's keeping you stuck making decisions with incomplete information.
Nina: Okay, so let's talk about why you've been trained not to trust your gut because understanding this is crucial to reclaiming your inner guidance system.
First, you were probably raised in systems that valued logic over intuition. Schools that rewarded the right answer, right? We coach on this all the time with clients, right? What's the right sequence? What's the right way? What's the right answer? Not the felt sense of what feels true, right?
Kelle: Mm-hmm. So good. You learned that feelings were subjective and unreliable, while facts were objective and trustworthy. But here's what they didn't tell you: your feelings are data.
Nina: Yeah, second, many of us learned early that our perceptions weren't valid. Maybe you were told, for example, you were too sensitive or making things up when you noticed something was off.
Kelle: Or maybe you were gaslit into thinking your instincts were wrong when they were actually detecting real problems that others couldn't or wouldn't see.
Nina: Yeah, third here, the productivity obsession taught you that decisions should be made quickly and logically, not slowly, deliberately, and intuitively.
Kelle: Yeah, that's when we learn to make all these pro and con lists, to analyze the data, to ask and seek others' opinions. All good tools here, but not the complete picture.
Nina: And finally, as ambitious women, you've probably been in environments that punished emotional decision-making and rewarded purely analytical thinking.
Kelle: You learned that your gut feelings were unprofessional, that successful people make decisions based on facts, not feelings.
Nina: But here's what all that programming missed: your gut isn't completely emotional; it's informational.
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Your gut isn't your feelings about a situation. It's your nervous system's rapid assessment of safety, alignment, and truth based on information you're not consciously processing.
Nina: So let's break down the difference between anxiety and intuition because this is where people get confused, right, Kelle?
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Yeah, before we go on, I just want to say this reminds me, Nina, of a text that we just got from one of our clients that has to make a decision, and she knows the decision that she should make, right? She woke up in the middle of the night, and she was like, "No. No, I can't do it. I can't make that decision." And that is her body telling her that she is to tune in to what is true to her. And so we're having some conversations, but that's what it is. That's what it is. It's thinking that you should be making a decision that does not feel true. Yes.
Nina: This one too, this example is like a parenting gut feeling, and it's so important to pay attention to those. It has something to do with her daughter. And you want to pay attention when your gut is speaking to you all the time, but particularly, let's check in when it comes to someone we love, a really important relationship. Anyway, we digress.
Kelle: So good.
Nina: We'll come back with more examples.
Kelle: Yeah. I'm so glad that she woke up and had those thoughts. So anyway. Yeah, me too. Coming back to it. Anxiety is your brain's story about what might happen. It's future-focused. It's often irrational, and usually involves a lot of what-if thinking.
Nina: Yeah, anxiety feels chaotic. We don't have to explain anxiety. It's urgent and overwhelming, right? It makes you want to do something immediately to make the feeling go away.
Kelle: Yeah, I mean, even talking about anxiety, it just feels clunky, right?
Nina: Yeah, buzzy, buzzy, buzzy.
Kelle: Intuition, on the other hand, it's calm knowing. It's present-focused. It's often surprisingly clear and doesn't need to justify itself with stories.
Nina: Yeah, intuition feels settled, certain, and there's a peaceful element to it, right? Even when it's telling you something you don't want to hear.
Kelle: Anxiety says, "What if this goes wrong? What if I make a mistake? What if everyone thinks I'm stupid?"
Nina: Yeah, intuition says, "This doesn't feel right. This person isn't trustworthy," for example. "This opportunity isn't for me."
Kelle: Yeah. It's like anxiety knows you want to act now to avoid a future problem. Intuition wants you to pay attention to what is.
Nina: Yeah, here's another key difference. Anxiety usually comes with a story about why you should be worried, right? Intuition often comes without explanation, just knowing.
Kelle: And listen, here's something crucial. You can have both at the same time. You can have a gut feeling that something is right for you and feel anxious about taking the leap.
Nina: The anxiety might be about the unknown or the risk involved. The intuition is about whether the decision aligns with who you are and what you need.
Kelle: So, how do you start distinguishing between the two? First, notice the quality of the feeling.
Nina: Does it feel chaotic and urgent or calm and certain, right? Does it come with a story about future problems, or just a sense of knowing about the present situation?
Kelle: So good. So good. Second, notice what the feeling is asking you to do. Is it asking you to frantically avoid something or simply to pay attention to information you're receiving?
Nina: Yeah, third, notice the timeline. Is the feeling about what might happen or about what is happening right now? This is singing to me. I'll get to it in a minute. Go ahead.
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Now, let's talk about while rational decision-making, while important, often misses crucial information.
Nina: Yeah, rational decision-making is great for analyzing what we know, right? Like known variables, but it can't account for information you haven't consciously identified yet.
Kelle: Your gut can sense things like, "This person says the right words, but their energy feels off," right? This opportunity looks good on paper, but something doesn't align with your values. Or this environment seems professional but feels kind of toxic underneath.
Nina: Yeah, rational analysis might miss these patterns because they're not quantifiable, right? They're not obvious. But they're often the most important factors in whether something will actually work for you.
Kelle: Plus, purely rational decisions often ignore your actual needs, desires, and values in favor of what looks smart or responsible.
Nina: You might rationally know that a job pays well and has good benefits, but your gut knows that the culture will slowly drain your soul.
Kelle: No. Oh. Oh, that hurts me. You might rationally think someone is a good match because they have similar interests, but your gut knows their communication style triggers your nervous system.
Nina: This is why the most successful people aren't just logical. They're integrative. They use both analytical thinking and just this intuitive knowing. We would call this, Kel, a balance between masculine energy and feminine energy. And if you're interested in that episode, we have a whole episode about the difference and the balance available to you. We'll put it in the show notes.
Kelle: Yes. Yes. Yeah. I love that so much. So, let's get practical about how to start rebuilding trust in your gut instincts.
Nina: Yeah, first, start paying attention to your body's signals throughout the day. If you're new around here or you've been following us for a long time, you know Kelle and I talk a lot about head down and body up work in coaching, right? A lot of the work that we help clients sink into is somatic, is body first, right? Because we typically ignore our bodies. So, pay attention to your body signals throughout the day. Notice when you feel expanded or contracted around different people, situations, or decisions.
Kelle: Yeah, expansion feels open and energized and alive, and contraction feels kind of tight and drained and closed off and heavy.
Nina: Yeah. So second, practice the pause. Before making decisions, take a moment to drop into your body and ask, "All right, how does this feel?"
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Yeah, not "What do I think about this?" But, "How does this feel in my body?" Notice what comes up before your brain starts analyzing.
Nina: Yeah. Third, start small here. Practice trusting your gut on low-stakes decisions, okay? Like what you want for dinner, what you should order for dinner, right? Which route to take home, which meeting to schedule first, that sort of thing.
Kelle: Yes. Yes. Okay, and fourth, keep a gut feeling journal. Write down your initial instinct about people and situations and then notice what happens over time.
Nina: Yeah, you'll probably be surprised by how often your gut was spot on about things your brain couldn't have figured out logically.
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, fifth, distinguish between your voice and other people's voices in your head, right? Your gut speaks to you in your authentic voice, not in the voice of your parents, your bossy friends, your society's expectations, all of that.
Nina: Yeah, if the knowing sounds judgmental, fearful, or like someone else's opinion, that's probably not your gut. Your gut is usually neutral and clear.
Kelle: Now, okay, let's address what we know you're thinking because we have done this a few times, right? So what we know you're thinking is, "But what if my gut is wrong? What if I make a mistake in trusting it?"
Nina: Here's the thing: your gut isn't infallible, but it's probably more accurate than you think. And the cost of not trusting it is usually higher than the cost of occasionally being wrong.
Kelle: Plus, mistakes from trusting your gut often teach you valuable lessons about yourself and what you need. Mistakes from ignoring your gut often just confirm that you should have listened to yourself.
Nina: Yeah, the goal isn't to only trust your gut and ignore all logic, okay? We don't do all-or-nothing thinking around here. We don't do black-or-white thinking. The goal is to integrate both your analytic mind and your intuitive knowing.
Kelle: Yeah, to use your brain to gather information and analyze options. Use your gut to assess how those options feel and whether they align with who you are.
Nina: Yeah, let's talk about what changes when you start trusting your gut more, right, Kelle?
Kelle: Yeah, yeah. Okay, so first, you make decisions faster. You don't get stuck in the analysis paralysis because you have additional information to work with.
Nina: Yeah, second, you make decisions that actually work for you long-term, not just on paper. You choose things that align with your whole self, not just your logical mind.
Kelle: And third, you become more confident in your choices because they come from your integrated wisdom, not just external advice or shoulds.
Nina: Yeah, fourth here, you waste less time in wrong situations because you trust the early warning signals instead of waiting for logical proof, right?
Kelle: Mm-hmm. And fifth, you become more authentic because you're following your internal guidance instead of external expectations.
Nina: But here's what we need to prepare you for: other people might not understand your gut-based decisions.
Kelle: Yeah, they might ask you to justify feelings that don't have logical explanations. They might think you're being impulsive or emotional.
Nina: But here's what we know: the most successful people trust information that others can't see yet. They trust patterns that haven't fully emerged. They trust knowing that comes from integration, not just analysis.
Kelle: All right, so your homework this week is to start paying attention to your gut signals without immediately analyzing them away.
Nina: Yeah, notice when something feels good, feels right, feels wrong in your body. Notice when you feel expanded or contracted. Notice the quality of the different feelings.
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Yeah, practice asking yourself, "How does this feel?" before, "What do I think about this?"
Nina: And start honoring those gut hits, even in small ways. Trust the feeling that says, "Take a different route," or, "That person seems off," or, "This opportunity doesn't feel right."
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Because here's what we know about you, Rockstar. You have incredible instincts. The question isn't whether they're accurate; it's whether you're brave enough to trust them.
Nina: In part three of this series, we're going to talk about how to trust yourself when you're making decisions in a world where you're taught to doubt yourself. This one is gold.
Kelle: Okay, but for now, start practicing the most radical thing you could do in a world that profits from your self-doubt: trusting yourself.
Nina: Until next time, pay attention to what your gut's telling you. It's probably smarter than you think.
Kelle: All right, see you next time.
Nina: Yeah, see you next time.
Nina: Hey Rockstars, ready to make this fall different? To stop cycling through the same old patterns of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and overwhelm? It’s time to break free. We have limited spots open for coaching this fall, so schedule a consultation with us at KelleandNina.com, and let’s get to work on actually implementing the tools and systems, and concepts that you hear us talk about here on Ambitious-ish, so you can actually enjoy the life you worked so hard to create. Don’t wait, this is your reset opportunity. Visit kelleandnina.com.
Kelle: Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode of Ambitious-Ish.
Nina: If you’re ready to align your ambitions with your heart and feel more calm, balanced, and connected, visit KelleAndNina.com for more information about how to work with us and make sure you get on our list.
Kelle: See you in the next episode!
Nina: Yeah, maybe you met someone and immediately felt off about them, but they seemed perfectly nice on paper, so you ignored your instincts, right? Maybe you walked into a job interview and your gut said, "This is not for me." But the role looked pretty perfect on LinkedIn, so you dismissed the feeling.
Kelle: Then, months later, you found out your gut was right all along.
Nina: Here's what we've been programmed to believe: only logical, rational, provable thoughts count. Gut feelings are just anxiety or fear. Smart people make decisions based on facts, not feelings.
Kelle: That's keeping you stuck, making decisions with incomplete information.
Nina: Your gut isn't emotional; it's informational. It's your nervous system's rapid assessment of safety, alignment, and truth based on information you're not consciously even processing yet.
Kelle: Yeah, welcome to part two of our trust series. We'll uncover how to distinguish between anxiety and intuition, why rational decision-making often misses crucial information, and how to start rebuilding trust in your internal guidance system.
Nina: Because the most successful people don't just trust logic, they trust information that others can't see yet.
Kelle: Yeah, ready to stop dismissing the smartest part of you? Let's go.
This is Ambitious-ish. Burnout? Check. Daily overwhelm? Check. Resentment rash, stress, and a complete lack of well-being? Check, check, check! You’re not alone. We’re your hosts, Kelle & Nina, and we are here to help you feel calm, balanced, and empowered so you can redefine success, make choices that feel authentic, and ACTUALLY enjoy the life you work so hard to create. You ready? Let’s go.
Kelle: Hey, I'm Kelle.
Nina: And I'm Nina. And today we're talking about something that might just change how you make every decision for the rest of your life.
Kelle: Yes, this is part two of our self-trust mini-series, and we're talking about something you've probably been trained to ignore: your gut instincts.
Nina: Because here's what we've discovered after coaching hundreds of ambitious women just like you: you already know what you need to know. The problem isn't that you don't have good instincts; it's that you've been programmed not to trust them.
Kelle: Yeah, today we're talking about why your gut knows before your brain does, how to distinguish between anxiety and intuition, and why rational decision-making often ignores the most important information.
Nina: So buckle up because we're about to challenge everything you've been taught about how smart people make decisions.
Kelle: Nina, let's start with some truth-telling here, okay? When's the last time you had a gut feeling about something, a person, a job, a situation, anything, but you talked yourself out of it because you couldn't prove why you felt that way?
Nina: Yeah, right? Maybe you met someone and immediately felt off about them, but they seemed perfectly nice on paper, so you ignored your instincts.
Kelle: Yeah, maybe you walked into a job interview and your gut said, "Nope, this isn't right." But the role looked perfect on LinkedIn, so you dismissed the feeling.
Nina: Yeah, maybe you were in a relationship and something just felt wrong, but you couldn't put your finger on what, so you told yourself you were being paranoid.
Kelle: And then months later, you found your gut was right. That person was untrustworthy. That job was toxic. The relationship was wrong for you.
Nina: But instead of learning to trust your instincts more, you probably thought, "I should have seen the signs," as if your gut feeling wasn't a sign, right?
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. Here's what we want you to understand: your gut doesn't operate on the same timeline as your brain. It processes information faster, deeper, and more accurately than your conscious mind does.
Nina: Yeah, you literally have a gut brain, right, Kel? I mean, we have a cerebral, like a head brain, and we have a gut brain. This is science. Your gut is constantly reading microexpressions, right? Like energy patterns, environmental cues, and information your conscious brain hasn't even noticed yet.
Kelle: Yes, but we have been taught that only logical, rational, provable thoughts count, right? That feelings are unreliable, that gut instincts are just anxiety or fear. And that programming, it's keeping you stuck making decisions with incomplete information.
Nina: Okay, so let's talk about why you've been trained not to trust your gut because understanding this is crucial to reclaiming your inner guidance system.
First, you were probably raised in systems that valued logic over intuition. Schools that rewarded the right answer, right? We coach on this all the time with clients, right? What's the right sequence? What's the right way? What's the right answer? Not the felt sense of what feels true, right?
Kelle: Mm-hmm. So good. You learned that feelings were subjective and unreliable, while facts were objective and trustworthy. But here's what they didn't tell you: your feelings are data.
Nina: Yeah, second, many of us learned early that our perceptions weren't valid. Maybe you were told, for example, you were too sensitive or making things up when you noticed something was off.
Kelle: Or maybe you were gaslit into thinking your instincts were wrong when they were actually detecting real problems that others couldn't or wouldn't see.
Nina: Yeah, third here, the productivity obsession taught you that decisions should be made quickly and logically, not slowly, deliberately, and intuitively.
Kelle: Yeah, that's when we learn to make all these pro and con lists, to analyze the data, to ask and seek others' opinions. All good tools here, but not the complete picture.
Nina: And finally, as ambitious women, you've probably been in environments that punished emotional decision-making and rewarded purely analytical thinking.
Kelle: You learned that your gut feelings were unprofessional, that successful people make decisions based on facts, not feelings.
Nina: But here's what all that programming missed: your gut isn't completely emotional; it's informational.
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Your gut isn't your feelings about a situation. It's your nervous system's rapid assessment of safety, alignment, and truth based on information you're not consciously processing.
Nina: So let's break down the difference between anxiety and intuition because this is where people get confused, right, Kelle?
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Yeah, before we go on, I just want to say this reminds me, Nina, of a text that we just got from one of our clients that has to make a decision, and she knows the decision that she should make, right? She woke up in the middle of the night, and she was like, "No. No, I can't do it. I can't make that decision." And that is her body telling her that she is to tune in to what is true to her. And so we're having some conversations, but that's what it is. That's what it is. It's thinking that you should be making a decision that does not feel true. Yes.
Nina: This one too, this example is like a parenting gut feeling, and it's so important to pay attention to those. It has something to do with her daughter. And you want to pay attention when your gut is speaking to you all the time, but particularly, let's check in when it comes to someone we love, a really important relationship. Anyway, we digress.
Kelle: So good.
Nina: We'll come back with more examples.
Kelle: Yeah. I'm so glad that she woke up and had those thoughts. So anyway. Yeah, me too. Coming back to it. Anxiety is your brain's story about what might happen. It's future-focused. It's often irrational, and usually involves a lot of what-if thinking.
Nina: Yeah, anxiety feels chaotic. We don't have to explain anxiety. It's urgent and overwhelming, right? It makes you want to do something immediately to make the feeling go away.
Kelle: Yeah, I mean, even talking about anxiety, it just feels clunky, right?
Nina: Yeah, buzzy, buzzy, buzzy.
Kelle: Intuition, on the other hand, it's calm knowing. It's present-focused. It's often surprisingly clear and doesn't need to justify itself with stories.
Nina: Yeah, intuition feels settled, certain, and there's a peaceful element to it, right? Even when it's telling you something you don't want to hear.
Kelle: Anxiety says, "What if this goes wrong? What if I make a mistake? What if everyone thinks I'm stupid?"
Nina: Yeah, intuition says, "This doesn't feel right. This person isn't trustworthy," for example. "This opportunity isn't for me."
Kelle: Yeah. It's like anxiety knows you want to act now to avoid a future problem. Intuition wants you to pay attention to what is.
Nina: Yeah, here's another key difference. Anxiety usually comes with a story about why you should be worried, right? Intuition often comes without explanation, just knowing.
Kelle: And listen, here's something crucial. You can have both at the same time. You can have a gut feeling that something is right for you and feel anxious about taking the leap.
Nina: The anxiety might be about the unknown or the risk involved. The intuition is about whether the decision aligns with who you are and what you need.
Kelle: So, how do you start distinguishing between the two? First, notice the quality of the feeling.
Nina: Does it feel chaotic and urgent or calm and certain, right? Does it come with a story about future problems, or just a sense of knowing about the present situation?
Kelle: So good. So good. Second, notice what the feeling is asking you to do. Is it asking you to frantically avoid something or simply to pay attention to information you're receiving?
Nina: Yeah, third, notice the timeline. Is the feeling about what might happen or about what is happening right now? This is singing to me. I'll get to it in a minute. Go ahead.
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Now, let's talk about while rational decision-making, while important, often misses crucial information.
Nina: Yeah, rational decision-making is great for analyzing what we know, right? Like known variables, but it can't account for information you haven't consciously identified yet.
Kelle: Your gut can sense things like, "This person says the right words, but their energy feels off," right? This opportunity looks good on paper, but something doesn't align with your values. Or this environment seems professional but feels kind of toxic underneath.
Nina: Yeah, rational analysis might miss these patterns because they're not quantifiable, right? They're not obvious. But they're often the most important factors in whether something will actually work for you.
Kelle: Plus, purely rational decisions often ignore your actual needs, desires, and values in favor of what looks smart or responsible.
Nina: You might rationally know that a job pays well and has good benefits, but your gut knows that the culture will slowly drain your soul.
Kelle: No. Oh. Oh, that hurts me. You might rationally think someone is a good match because they have similar interests, but your gut knows their communication style triggers your nervous system.
Nina: This is why the most successful people aren't just logical. They're integrative. They use both analytical thinking and just this intuitive knowing. We would call this, Kel, a balance between masculine energy and feminine energy. And if you're interested in that episode, we have a whole episode about the difference and the balance available to you. We'll put it in the show notes.
Kelle: Yes. Yes. Yeah. I love that so much. So, let's get practical about how to start rebuilding trust in your gut instincts.
Nina: Yeah, first, start paying attention to your body's signals throughout the day. If you're new around here or you've been following us for a long time, you know Kelle and I talk a lot about head down and body up work in coaching, right? A lot of the work that we help clients sink into is somatic, is body first, right? Because we typically ignore our bodies. So, pay attention to your body signals throughout the day. Notice when you feel expanded or contracted around different people, situations, or decisions.
Kelle: Yeah, expansion feels open and energized and alive, and contraction feels kind of tight and drained and closed off and heavy.
Nina: Yeah. So second, practice the pause. Before making decisions, take a moment to drop into your body and ask, "All right, how does this feel?"
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Yeah, not "What do I think about this?" But, "How does this feel in my body?" Notice what comes up before your brain starts analyzing.
Nina: Yeah. Third, start small here. Practice trusting your gut on low-stakes decisions, okay? Like what you want for dinner, what you should order for dinner, right? Which route to take home, which meeting to schedule first, that sort of thing.
Kelle: Yes. Yes. Okay, and fourth, keep a gut feeling journal. Write down your initial instinct about people and situations and then notice what happens over time.
Nina: Yeah, you'll probably be surprised by how often your gut was spot on about things your brain couldn't have figured out logically.
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, fifth, distinguish between your voice and other people's voices in your head, right? Your gut speaks to you in your authentic voice, not in the voice of your parents, your bossy friends, your society's expectations, all of that.
Nina: Yeah, if the knowing sounds judgmental, fearful, or like someone else's opinion, that's probably not your gut. Your gut is usually neutral and clear.
Kelle: Now, okay, let's address what we know you're thinking because we have done this a few times, right? So what we know you're thinking is, "But what if my gut is wrong? What if I make a mistake in trusting it?"
Nina: Here's the thing: your gut isn't infallible, but it's probably more accurate than you think. And the cost of not trusting it is usually higher than the cost of occasionally being wrong.
Kelle: Plus, mistakes from trusting your gut often teach you valuable lessons about yourself and what you need. Mistakes from ignoring your gut often just confirm that you should have listened to yourself.
Nina: Yeah, the goal isn't to only trust your gut and ignore all logic, okay? We don't do all-or-nothing thinking around here. We don't do black-or-white thinking. The goal is to integrate both your analytic mind and your intuitive knowing.
Kelle: Yeah, to use your brain to gather information and analyze options. Use your gut to assess how those options feel and whether they align with who you are.
Nina: Yeah, let's talk about what changes when you start trusting your gut more, right, Kelle?
Kelle: Yeah, yeah. Okay, so first, you make decisions faster. You don't get stuck in the analysis paralysis because you have additional information to work with.
Nina: Yeah, second, you make decisions that actually work for you long-term, not just on paper. You choose things that align with your whole self, not just your logical mind.
Kelle: And third, you become more confident in your choices because they come from your integrated wisdom, not just external advice or shoulds.
Nina: Yeah, fourth here, you waste less time in wrong situations because you trust the early warning signals instead of waiting for logical proof, right?
Kelle: Mm-hmm. And fifth, you become more authentic because you're following your internal guidance instead of external expectations.
Nina: But here's what we need to prepare you for: other people might not understand your gut-based decisions.
Kelle: Yeah, they might ask you to justify feelings that don't have logical explanations. They might think you're being impulsive or emotional.
Nina: But here's what we know: the most successful people trust information that others can't see yet. They trust patterns that haven't fully emerged. They trust knowing that comes from integration, not just analysis.
Kelle: All right, so your homework this week is to start paying attention to your gut signals without immediately analyzing them away.
Nina: Yeah, notice when something feels good, feels right, feels wrong in your body. Notice when you feel expanded or contracted. Notice the quality of the different feelings.
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Yeah, practice asking yourself, "How does this feel?" before, "What do I think about this?"
Nina: And start honoring those gut hits, even in small ways. Trust the feeling that says, "Take a different route," or, "That person seems off," or, "This opportunity doesn't feel right."
Kelle: Mm-hmm. Because here's what we know about you, Rockstar. You have incredible instincts. The question isn't whether they're accurate; it's whether you're brave enough to trust them.
Nina: In part three of this series, we're going to talk about how to trust yourself when you're making decisions in a world where you're taught to doubt yourself. This one is gold.
Kelle: Okay, but for now, start practicing the most radical thing you could do in a world that profits from your self-doubt: trusting yourself.
Nina: Until next time, pay attention to what your gut's telling you. It's probably smarter than you think.
Kelle: All right, see you next time.
Nina: Yeah, see you next time.
Nina: Hey Rockstars, ready to make this fall different? To stop cycling through the same old patterns of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and overwhelm? It’s time to break free. We have limited spots open for coaching this fall, so schedule a consultation with us at KelleandNina.com, and let’s get to work on actually implementing the tools and systems, and concepts that you hear us talk about here on Ambitious-ish, so you can actually enjoy the life you worked so hard to create. Don’t wait, this is your reset opportunity. Visit kelleandnina.com.
Kelle: Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode of Ambitious-Ish.
Nina: If you’re ready to align your ambitions with your heart and feel more calm, balanced, and connected, visit KelleAndNina.com for more information about how to work with us and make sure you get on our list.
Kelle: See you in the next episode!
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