How To Listen To Your Gut and Be More Successful
Every time I preach about how amazing exercise is for our bodies and minds I get a little twinge in my stomach. This twinge happens because of a tricky thing our brain does when our beliefs and actions don’t match up. Our brains love consistency. They love routine. They love when what we say matches what we do. I get this twinge my tummy every time I write about the benefits of exercise because I strongly believe exercise is the best thing we can possibly do for our bodies and our minds, but right now I am not exercising as much as I want. There is an inconsistency between my beliefs and my actions, and my brain lets me know this by giving me a kick in the stomach.
In psychology we call this twinge Cognitive Dissonance. Basically this is the idea that when our beliefs don’t match our actions our brain doesn’t like it and so the brain does one of two things.
1. Option 1 - I change my actions to match my beliefs. Every time I write about exercise I find that I’m putting in a little bit of extra effort that day to go for a walk with my family after dinner, or to take the stairs. My brain kicks me into gear and I change my behaviours.
2. Option 2 - I rationalize and my brain talks its way out of this discomfort without changing. So rather than changing my behaviour and exercising more, maybe I have thoughts like “well I’m really busy right now and focusing on my work is more important than exercise”, or “I know exercise is important, but I’m still young so it’s not a big deal”. Sound familiar? Our brains are super good at talking themselves out of making change.
You can see that Option 1 is going to inspire us to change, we are going to do something so that our beliefs and our actions match. But if we fall into Option 2 we are less likely to change. We’re not going to keep pushing towards our goals because our brain talks us out of how important they are.
Sometimes our goals themselves give us this gut twinge. This is because usually when we are working towards a goal it is something new for our brain. Basically our brain says new is bad, change is bad, stay the same forever. But when we are working towards our goals we don’t want this to happen! We want to feel that twinge in the stomach that says this is outside my comfort zone, this is a big change from what I usually do, but my belief is that reaching my goals is more important than the discomfort this is going to cause while I change.
Next time you’re doing something and you feel that twinge in your stomach pay attention. Maybe your brain is trying to push you towards changing your behaviours so they match with your beliefs. Or maybe this twinge is your brain trying to hold you back from change! Follow your gut. Don’t let your brain’s need for consistency talk you out of reaching for your goals.