Since I bring resilience training into middle and high schools, people often ask me: "What's the most important resilience skill we can teach our teens?"
My answer every time: To trust their own gut.
Of all the tools we have at our disposal, our Inner Wisdom (or whatever you choose to call it) is
the most powerful. And yet, culturally, we tend to overvalue intellect and logic. But here’s the thing: our minds are not always our friends. In fact, many people seek therapy because their thoughts and beliefs are so tangled up that they can’t see their situation clearly.
When I invite them to pause, breathe, and tune into their Inner Wisdom, they often find a clear answer—but then their rational mind jumps in and talks them out of it.
Think back to the last time you felt a “red flag warning” in your gut but ignored it. How did that work out for you?
Now, can you think of a time when you listened to your gut, even when logic told you otherwise? What happened then?
The truth is, we can feel in our bodies whether a decision aligns with our true desires or is driven by fear. But too often, we rationalize ourselves into ignoring those signals.
Is there something your gut has been telling you that you’ve been ignoring?