On Overthinking And Gut Feelings
Sometimes it’s hard to know whether resistance means something isn’t right for us, or whether it’s simply fear holding us back.
I’ve been sitting with that question a lot lately.
When we start something new, it might feel exciting at first. It might feel right. But then the mind starts questioning. Analyzing. Overthinking its way out of it.
We tell ourselves stories: What if I’m just afraid? What if I’m missing an opportunity? What if this could be the thing? What if not?
And the core question of it all: Was the intuition at the beginning or at the end? Were we excited because it felt right in our gut, or simply because it was new? Is it the gut, in the end, telling us it doesn’t feel right, or do we just start questioning it because we’ve had enough time to overanalyze?
The tricky part is learning to tell the difference.
Overthinking comes from the mind: analyzing, spiraling, needing to control the outcome.
Intuition, on the other hand, feels softer. It doesn’t explain itself. It simply says yes or no, and then leaves the space for us to trust it.
But sometimes there’s a grey zone.
And here’s what I’m learning right now: we don’t have to figure it all out in one go. We can take one step forward - write the letter, send the email, explore the possibility - without committing our whole future to it. We can test the waters, see how it feels, and decide from there.
We don’t have to map out the whole path yet. Because we can’t anyway. When you don’t take the first step, you can never tell what the third one will be.
Clarity rarely arrives before action. It shows up through it.
So maybe it’s okay to pause when something feels off. To wait until the gut says “yes.” And maybe it’s also okay to take small, curious steps when the mind overthinks but the heart still feels a spark.
How about you?
How do you tell whether it’s your gut or your mind speaking - intuition or fear?
I’d love to know.
Love,
Lexie.
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