Are you sure?
Something that lives rent-free in my head far too often is the fact that I don’t always feel like I honour my intuition.
This morning, I witnessed a small boy choosing his breakfast at the airport. What I assume was his dad asked him what he wanted, and without hesitation he asked for a plain croissant. There were so many other options – chocolate-filled, bacon-packed, covered in sugar – but he simply wanted a plain one. His dad asked again, “Are you sure? There are chocolate ones.” Yet the boy stood firm. He wanted the plain croissant.
It made me think. If we’re asked over and over again whether we’re sure about something, doesn’t that start to create a loop in our brains – a subtle conditioning to second-guess our gut instincts? Are parents, often unintentionally, teaching children not to trust themselves every time they ask for reassurance about their own decisions?
I do understand the logic. I’ve seen plenty of children pick one thing only to change their minds moments later – and yes, it’s frustrating. But I think this gentle chipping away at intuition starts in childhood and then seeps into adulthood, manifesting in the way we question ourselves at work, in relationships, and even in the quiet choices we make for ourselves.
Take work, for example. If I’m asked to quote a job and my manager doesn’t quite agree, he’ll ask, “Are you sure? What’s your reasoning?” I completely understand why – he needs justification, and I should be able to articulate it. But my immediate, almost automatic response to that question is to doubt myself. I think most people would feel the same.
When you’re asked to justify your certainty, most people won’t accept “it just feels right” as a valid answer. But that’s exactly what intuition is – a felt truth rather than a logical one. The only people who tend to accept that as an answer are those who’ve learned to trust their gut, to understand that feeling something deeply is reason enough.
It’s kind of mad when you think about it – we are natural animals, built on instinct, yet we’ve managed to talk ourselves out of trusting one of the most powerful tools evolution ever gave us. We’ve replaced instinct with overthinking, spreadsheets, and pros and cons lists.
When was the last time you thought of an idea or a plan and just went for it? No hesitation, no mental debate, no ten-step analysis. Just a single thought followed by immediate action. I don’t do that often, and honestly, I’m a little sad about it.
So my ahead-of-the-new-year resolution is this: to give more power to my intuition. To practise trusting that first inner voice and allowing it to lead more often.
Because there’s so much strength and authenticity in living life guided by your gut instinct. I truly believe that if more of us lived that way, the world would be a kinder, freer and more individual place.
So here’s my little challenge – the next time someone asks you, or you ask yourself, “Are you sure?”, rebel against it. Say yes, simply because your gut told you so. Or skip the question entirely and act before doubt has the chance to creep in.
Like so many things in life, this is a skill only you can train – the ability to trust yourself from the very first spark of a thought. The more you do it, the louder your intuition becomes, and the easier it gets to follow it.
After all, your gut instinct is the most ancient, loyal compass you’ll ever own – it’s just waiting for you to start listening again.