• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
    • Self Care
    • Design & Décor
    • Career
    • Books
    • Shopping Guides
  • Services
    • Portfolio
    • About Our Studio
    • Who We Are
    • Hire Us!
  • Shop
    • Décor
    • Dining & Tabletop
    • Accessories
    • Self Care
    • Stationery
    • Lifestyle
instagram icon pinterest icon
Looking for something?
search icon
wallflower logo

wallflower • collaborative, custom creative for thoughtful brands & people

  • Self Care
    • Personality
      • Sensitivity
      • For Introverts
      • Creativity
      • Mental Health
      • Enneagram
    • Wellness
      • Dealing with Stress
      • Women’s Health
  • Career
    • Maker Profiles
    • Career Tips
    • Freelance
    • Working from Home
    • Growing Your Business
  • Design + Décor
    • Home Décor
    • Design Trends
    • Fashion
    • Fun with Trends
  • Books
  • Shopping Guides
  • Browse the Archives
  • Our Studio
    • Services – V1
    • Portfolio
    • Who We Are
    • Hire us!
    Self Care
    Personality
  • Sensitivity
  • Creativity
  • For Introverts
  • Enneagram
  • Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Dealing With Stress
  • Mental Health
  • creative journal prompts
    20 journal prompts for highly sensitive people
    4 Types of Emotional Self-Care You Can Practice Today
    4 types of emotional self-care you can practice today
    Fashion
    Design & Décor
    Design & Décor
  • Design Trends
  • Home Décor
  • Fashion
  • Fun With Trends
  • colorful maximalist home decor
    entertaining with colorful maximalism decor
    flask vase in rust
    15 modern, funky vases & where to buy them
    Books
    Shopping Guides
  • VISIT THE SHOP

What It Means To Trust Your Gut

published on 12/15/21 by Courtney Ciandella

Whenever we’re on the heels of making a decision, we’re usually swayed by our gut in one direction or another. Our guts have helped us with our school work (the dreaded multiple choice quizzes), navigating directions while behind the wheel, and even providing clarity in our relationships. It’s our gut feeling that guides us in and out of troubling scenarios like whether we should accept a job offer or stay in an environment that feels toxic. Or breaking through uncomfortable situations such as continuing a friendship that attracts negativity versus letting go to make room for others who make us feel good.  

We rely on our deep-seated emotions to make many choices even when we don’t always get it right. We remain confident in our inner feelings because it’s our best navigation tool along life’s most winding roads. We can make endless pro-con lists detailing every valid reason to proceed down one pathway, but ultimately, our inner selves make the final call. That nagging sensation buried inside each of us decides which way we should go in an endless sea of outcomes. A passion that doesn’t always solicit us down the yellow brick road to our dreams but helps us blast through roadblocks on the way there.

What it means to trust your gut can be described in numerous ways, as it presents a different reaction for everyone. However, only you can articulate what these feelings mean in each situation you face. Below are some further explanations on trusting your gut that are more useful than any pro-con list can offer.   

what it means to trust your gut

Trusting your gut means…        

FOLLOWING YOUR INSTINCTS/INTUITION

Often, your gut feeling appears when you least expect it. It swoops with its metaphoric flashing lights to warn you when something may not be working and signals you to more suitable options. It elicits cues in the form of anxiety, fear, or doubt, telling you that something may be wrong. When these began to surface, you were always taught to follow your instincts or intuitions (thanks, Mom!) leading you to the answers you’re looking for. 

When you follow your instincts, you listen to your inner voice—the hunch that subtly guides you through life’s biggest obstacles. It encourages a venture that makes sense to you rather than one that appears to work on paper. Suddenly, deciding whether to go on that second date or when to submit a down payment on the house you dreamed of doesn’t seem like an impossible choice but a trusted emotion.   

PAYING MIND TO THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL SYMPTOMS

Oddly enough, the clammy hands, nausea, and tension that you often experience when trying to decipher your next move are usually signs that your gut is trying to tell you something. The symptoms that mimic anxiety that you try so often to suppress or ignore could be your body’s way of alerting you that something may not be right. Sometimes the metaphor “cold feet” that describes a sense of uncertainty before a big event is a red flag cautioning you to rethink the following steps. 

Paying mind to the physical and mental symptoms that your body is experiencing is a form of trusting your gut, as it enables you to listen to what your body truly needs. By ignoring these sensations, you doubt your abilities and potentially miss better opportunities that await you.  

TRUSTING THAT YOUR UNSETTLED FEELINGS MEAN SOMETHING

To trust your gut means to have confidence in yourself that you know what’s best. It’s trusting that your unsettled feelings mean something and are worth considering. There’s a reason that you feel bothered about a situation or layer of your life—an intensity that will only grow the more it is swept under the rug. 

The problem could be you’ve outgrown your role in your company affecting your mood at work, or ongoing struggles with your significant other have you constantly feeling rattled about the relationship. Have faith that those symptoms are attempts to steer you away from the darkness into a more positive light. That a more fulfilling job opportunity or a healthier partnership is near, eliminating any fears or worries. Make a habit of trusting your gut because the answers have always been inside of you all along. 

What do you think it means to trust your gut? How have you tuned into your intuition lately?

Share

1
Courtney is a certified yoga instructor and freelance writer specializing in improving mental health and physical well-being. She currently resides outside Ocean City, Maryland, with her 3-year-old Dachshund mix, Winnie.
see all posts by Courtney Ciandella
instagram icon

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

wallflower shop
pink bed and wallpaper - how to take a slowcation by wallflower
How to Take A Slowcation
cozy fall gift ideas from wallflower shop
Wallflower Picks for Fall Gifting
benefits of journaling for mental health
The Mental Health Benefits of Journaling + How To Get Started
5 positive highly sensitive person traits - by wallflower (image of pink peony bouquet)
5 Positive Traits of a Highly Sensitive Person
blog
Self Care
Career
Design & Décor
Books
Shopping Guides
Read All
shop
décor
dining & tabletop
accessories
self care
stationery
shop all
info
who we are
our studio
services
privacy policy
accessibility
contact us
wanna keep in touch? sign up for our newsletter for blog highlights and shop updates. plus, receive 10% off your first wallflower purchase!
welcome! thanks for joining us!
© Studio Wallflower 2025
Back to Top
Font Resize
Contrast
Accessibility by WAH