Don't lose your GUT.

Contrary to popular belief, I think that you should keep your gut instead of trying to lose it. Having a gut is good for you!

No, no, people people!!! I'm not talking about your TUMMY gut... I'm talking about your MIND gut.
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We are so much smarter than we think we are. Our brain is such a powerful instrument that can do some crazy cool things... We just need to learn how to use and embrace it.

We have something in us that can produce magical things, if used correctly...that's our intuition. I highly respect and admire individuals who allow their gut feelings to guide them in their decision making. This type of individual is confident in themselves. They understand that while gathering information and asking for others viewpoints is important, keeping their intuition at the forefront is just as powerful. Sometimes, they even make decisions based solely off what their gut is telling them. And they are okay if their intuition turns out to be wrong because they know that their intentions were sound.  How freaking awesome are these people? Pretty freaking awesome.

In school, we are taught to analyze facts, gather data, conduct experiments, and do research.... all great things, but do you notice a trend? None include using your own brain power, your own conscious, nor your own intuition. How easy is it to pick up a book and read? How easy is it to do research? To read what other people have come up with? To write an essay based off of factual information? Or shoot, to write an essay about someone else's intuition? Yeah, it might take a lot of time to do all the above, but it doesn't require using your conscious.

Do you think think karma exists? Why do you think the divorce rate is so high? Is your girlfriend/boyfriend cheating on you? Is there really a God? Is so-and-so telling the truth? All evidence and theory aside, what does your gut tell you?

Something we don't learn about in school is the adaptive unconscious, which Malcolm Gladwell talks about in his book, Blink. The adaptive unconscious is a fancy shmancy word that describes intuition. It is basically our capability of making very quick judgments based on very little information. This rapid cognition is real and is happening to us 24/7, but we have learned to ignore it. We have learned to not trust our natural instincts unless there is hard evidence/lots of information to support it. The irony is that a lot of times our snap judgments and first impressions can make much more sense of the world than anything else.

My gut tells me that I'm supposed to be home in northern California (even though I miss Long Beach so incredibly much). My gut tells me who are good guys and who aren't. My gut tells me that I made the right choice in choosing to work for Target (even though I was job offered by a few other good companies). My gut tells me who I should and shouldn't trust.

My gut hasn't always been right though. And that's okay. Intuition is not a guaranteed telling of something. No one can tell the future, see through walls, read minds, etc. Intuition is simply having trust in your own spirit. To some people, intuition is God talking to them.

The coolest thing about intuition, I think, is that it's yours and yours alone. Following your intuition is a solo move - you act on what you are telling yourself to do, without anyone else's influence. The more you embrace your intuition, the more and more self-confident and self-dependent you become. Pretty awesome stuff. My gut tells me that I should trust my gut... not even sure if that makes sense, but I have a gut feeling that it does.

What is your gut telling you?

The Present is a Gift.

The present is a gift. It really is.

If you pay close attention to your thoughts, how many of them are of the past or future? Driving to work, laying in bed trying to fall asleep, showering, getting ready for the day... If you were to take inventory of your thoughts, how many times would you check off thoughts of the past or thoughts of the future? I know I, personally, would have lots of checks next to those two categories.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the past or of the future. We ponder about what happened yesterday, last week, last month, last year. We think about the rest of our lives - where we will be, what we will be doing, who we will be with. And we analyze why things have happened the way they did. Don't get me wrong, it's always good to think about the past to gather what we learned from certain experiences. And, thinking about the future is a good thing too - we should be strategic in our everyday decisions in order to get to the places we want to get to.

But, we can't forget about the now, which is probably just as, if not more, important as bringing closure to past experiences and dreaming of our future.

Ever just sit for 5, 10, shoot, 15 minutes and just... look around? Okay, okay. I know you might look kind of creepy just sitting and staring. But, well... just try not to look creepy. Anyway, what I mean is... sitting, feeling, and being in the present... appreciating your present state of mind, the nature around you, your ability to breath, the air, the sky, the clothes on your body that keep you warm, the lamp that is on to provide you lighting, having freedom. When we focus our energy on the past or the future, we forget about the blessings we have been given in the now.

"When one door closes, another door opens." Yes, cliche and probably a tad cheesy, but it's true. What I realize is I can't move on from something until I let it go. Many times we hang on to things that are no longer a part of our present. I think that we hang on to things because sometimes we are scared to let them go. By letting something go, we open the door to the unknown and unfamiliar... which really, are just new opportunities, new experiences, new people. If you want to meet new people, experience new things, and receive new opportunities, but for some reason it's not happening... try letting go of something (or everything, but baby steps!!) you are hanging onto from your past and start focusing your energy on the now, and I betcha you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Appreciate and learn from your past experiences, and by all friggin' means be excited about your future... But most importantly, live in the present.

The past is gone - we can't do nothin' about it. The future is out of our hands.. shoot, it's not even guaranteed. But the present is here and now. And we should cherish that.


Live this, and you'll receive new gifts every moment of your life... because the present is a gift.