Your mind may rationalize. Your heart may romanticize. But your gut? Your gut just knows.”
I never used to believe in gut feelings. Honestly, I thought they were just something people said when they didn’t want to explain their decisions. You know the types of people who say, “I just felt it,” or “I can’t explain it—I just knew.” I’d roll my eyes and think, ok, but what’s the logic behind that?
For a long time, I have wondered, do you lead with your head, your heart or your gut? And me? I always led with my heart. That bleeding, hopeful, loyal heart. The one that got me into relationships that didn’t serve me, jobs that didn’t value me, friendships I stayed in too long, and projects I gave everything to, even when I got nothing back.
I’ve always been the kind of person who believes in people. I see their potential. I root for them. I hang on longer than I should, thinking if I just give a little more, love a little harder, show up a little more consistently—maybe it’ll work. And while I’ve worn that as a badge of honor, I can’t ignore the fact that it’s also gotten me burned.
Take my old job I worked there for over a decade—13 years I gave my time, my talent, my literal heart and soul. There were incredible moments. Lives changed. Mine included.
But toward the end… something felt off. I couldn’t name it. Nothing catastrophic happened. But my gut knew but I couldn’t explain it.
The meetings felt heavier. The conversations less collaborative. The joy I used to feel showing up slowly turned into dread. It wasn’t one big thing—it was dozens of tiny things that didn’t sit right.
But I didn’t listen.
My brain told me to be rational. It’s a job. Be grateful. Don’t be dramatic. My heart told me to be loyal. Stick it out. These are your people. But my gut? My gut was screaming long before I was willing to hear it. And I silenced it. I pushed through. I smiled. I told myself stories about timing and loyalty and doing the right thing.
I’ve done the same in relationships. That subtle shift in someone’s tone. The way the effort drops off without explanation. The feeling that something’s not being said. My heart has always wanted to explain it away. My head tried to make sense of it. But my gut—my body—knew. It tensed up. It stopped sleeping. It flinched at the things I used to crave.
Now, I’m learning something I wish I’d figured out sooner, our gut often knows before our brain can process the information. Long before we have all the evidence, long before the red flags become undeniable, the body starts whispering. We just get really good at ignoring it.
We override those internal nudges because we want to be “fair.” We don’t want to be the one who quits first. We want to believe it’s fixable, or that we’re being too sensitive. And we fear being wrong—because what if it was just in our head?
But here’s the truth, your gut doesn’t need a logical argument. It doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else. It doesn’t operate in spreadsheets or checklists. It’s a quiet, sometimes inconvenient truth-teller—and it doesn’t care about your reputation, your resume, or your desire to be liked.
A “gut feeling,” also known as intuition or instinct, is a visceral, subconscious sense or feeling about something, often without conscious reasoning. While it’s not always reliable, scientific evidence suggests it’s a real phenomenon rooted in the brain’s processing of information, including past experiences and subtle cues. Gut feelings can be helpful in decision-making, but they shouldn’t be the sole basis for important choices, as they can sometimes be inaccurate or influenced by biases and past experiences. So, this is where your doubt comes in when listening to your gut.
However, if something in your life right now feels off—not awful, just off—I want you to know you don’t need to wait for the collapse to trust what you already feel. You don’t have to stay until it becomes unbearable. You don’t need permission to walk away from “fine.” If it’s draining you, if it’s shrinking you, if it’s confusing your nervous system every time you try to convince yourself it’s okay—it’s probably not okay.
You don’t need to wait for the fallout. You don’t need to be 100% sure. You just need to listen to yourself—and be willing to honor what you hear.
Remember, YOU GOT THIS!
ONE ON ONE COACHING – Good Things Are Gonna Come
Buy Jasmine’s book HERE
