I often watch with rapt attention at the poor decision-making that occurs in horror movies. It gives me a sort of gruesome satisfaction to see arrogant jerks and mean maidens make awful choices that impact their ultimate survival. They enter creepy basements, caves, vans with no windows, and dangerous water; all while ignoring blatant clues and ominous foreshadowing. It makes me wonder if they are intentionally disregarding the little voices inside their heads.
“Have faith in your intuition and listen to your gut feeling.” -Ann Cotton
You can call it intuition, you can call it a gut feeling. We often talk to ourselves, rather, our sub-conscious self-talks to our conscious self. Studies have shown that the majority of our thought processes happen below the level at which we are aware. The problem is, we often ignore the advice the voices give us or rationalize it away as noise. If you hear a voice saying “Don’t eat that cookie, it will go straight to your ass”, look around because it may be your spouse, and you really should listen to what they say. If you are alone, it may be your subconscious telling you that your insulin levels are out of whack and sugar could pose a problem.
At this point, you need to evaluate the message you have received from your inner voice. Are you diabetic? Are you currently dieting? Does your spouse think your ass is an issue? Are you allergic to any of the ingredients? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, maybe, or I am unsure; DO NOT EAT THE COOKIE. Otherwise, eat the cookie and deal with the consequences as they arise.
Here is a link to an article in Psychology Today on how to use intuition.
Sometimes, however, cookies are extremely irresistible, so it is advisable to resist cookies first thing in the morning when your strength is at its peak. Making decisions throughout the day will deplete the total store of willpower that you have. As a day goes by, your ability to resist impulses and make decisions grows weaker. That is why people often fail at dieting, exercising, and growing beards. It is too easy to not work out or eat properly (not to mention precision shaving) late in the day, even when the voices are clamoring for attention inside your skull.
We all have voices, or a voice, that speaks to us frequently throughout any given day. You need to be able to discern what type of voice is speaking to you so that you don’t act on bad impulses or fail to act on very important impulses. If an individual, and by individual I do not mean myself, is bat-shit crazy; they should not listen to the voices that are urging them to act. If on the other hand an individual is extremely devout and receiving directives from a supreme being, they should not hesitate to act. Be cautious though as there have been instances where the one type of individual has been mistaken for the other. If a voice is telling you to drink the Kool-Aid so you can board an asteroid to Valhalla, seek professional advice immediately!
Now that we have explored, rather randomly, listening to your inner voice and conserving willpower by making important decisions early in the day, I want to leave you with some bullet points (because bullet points lend credibility and significance to any writing).
- Listen to your gut feelings because it is often your subconscious mind trying to give you advice.
- Do not get into a van with no windows, even if there is a promise of candy or puppies. You are in a horror movie…it doesn’t end well.
- We only have a certain amount of willpower on any given day. Make difficult shaving decisions early.
- If you are going to drink the Kool-aid, at least have a cookie to go with it!
- The voices in MY head made me write this article. I thought it was a divine suggestion, but I may have been mistaken as I was preoccupied trying to catch the last asteroid to Valhalla.
An amazing life is waiting for you if you have the courage to seize it. Listening to your intuition and acting, in spite of fear or discomfort, will grant you experiences that will enrich your world.