Last Updated on April 25, 2016 by Michael Brockbank
Your instincts can do a great deal of good if you listened to them. Not everyone does. Your gut response is kind of like that little voice inside your head that advises you to do certain things. If you don’t listen to that voice, you’re probably going against your instincts. From a health perspective, this could contribute to physical and mental complications. Personally, I’ve been spending more time listening to those little whispers and have changed quite a few things in my life for the better.
Why It’s Important to Listen to Your Gut Response
For most people, instincts are what guide you to make proper decisions. If you practice listening to your gut, you may be able to make better choices in your lifestyle. This doesn’t merely help in making decisions for health. Your gut response can benefit everything from careers to finding a mate. It’s your subconscious giving you information based on previous experiences as well as utilizing all of your senses simultaneously. It can help you keep out of trouble while helping you improve physical and mental health.
Prevent Putting Things Off
In the past, I was quite famous in the house for putting things off until the last minute. Even though my gut response was to take action, I went against my subconscious. This often led to forgetting to do the task in the future. Now, I try to follow through with tasks as soon as they enter my mind. Instead of things I could do today that I’ll forget tomorrow, I just do the task.
Getting More Physical Activity
By listening to my gut, I have slowly increased my physical activity. First thing in the morning, that little voice in my head says, “go for a quick walk.” Even though my body is saying, “go back to bed,” I’ve increased my daily average of steps by more than 1,500. As soon as a thought to clean a certain thing in the house pops into mind, I do it. Not only is my house slowly becoming the palace I would like it to be, I’ve also increased my average calorie burn.
Eating Healthier
In the past, I was terrible about eating in the mornings. Usually, I wouldn’t eat breakfast at all and gorge myself at night. This pretty much screwed up my metabolism. By listening to my gut response first thing in the morning, I’ve been eating healthier. I cannot begin to tell you how much better I feel throughout the day when I’ve had a bowl of Cream of Wheat and a cup of mixed berries for breakfast.
Eating healthier isn’t merely for meals, but it can also influence your snacking throughout the day. Instead of grabbing an icing-filled oatmeal cookie, I’ve found myself grabbing carrots or string cheese for a quick snack. This alone has cut my calorie and sugar intake by almost half. Although I still like an occasional cookie, it’s no longer the staple it was thanks to my gut telling me to eat something else.
Preventing the Emotional Imbalance
Some experts believe that going against your instincts can cause an emotional imbalance within yourself. Eventually, you’ll start to lose touch with that little voice in your head. I don’t know if all that is true, but it has made a huge impact in my life. I find myself less stressed and more confident throughout the day. Now, I don’t know if that’s related to listening to my instincts or if it’s because I am eating healthier. In reality, physical and mental fitness begins with proper nutrition and exercise. However, I do find a lot of my tasks are much easier to manage now that I pay more attention to my gut.
Strike When the Iron is Hot
A lot of people, such as myself, have the habit of talking themselves out of something that pops into their head. The trick is to quit and act on what your mind is telling you. For example, I almost talked myself out of breakfast this morning because I have a lot of work to do. However, I went ahead and made something to eat – which will impact the rest of my morning while helping me keep my thoughts clear.
Try to avoid talking yourself out of something, unless it’s something that has potential to hurt you. Focus on what that little voice in your head is saying and understand the reasoning behind it. Taking a few minutes out of my morning to eat a healthy breakfast will give my body and mind the nutrients needed to power through my day. Without my gut telling me to do this, I would more than likely feel lethargic by lunch.
As soon as your mind tells you to do something, try to do it right away. This may prevent you from forgetting to do it later while keeping your body in motion. For instance, do you hear a voice in your head say, “Maybe you should wash some of those dishes” but put off doing it till later? I did. In the past I would think to myself, “I’ll do ’em later” and then completely forget. Why is washing dishes important to health? Because it’s an activity that may keep you on your feet for 10 to 20 minutes while moving. You may be surprised by how many calories you burn doing simple household chores.
The next time your gut drops a whisper in your ear to do something that has potential to be healthy, try to listen. Your body may guide you to achieve a better lifestyle if you would let it. By taking the advice of your instincts, you could find proper health is much easier than you realize.
How often do you listen to your gut and do what it tells you?
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