Why I believe that following your heart will always trump all other cards:
1. Intuition.
Intuition is “the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning”. We have all felt the ‘sixth sense’, that ‘gut feeling’ that something ‘feels’ right or wrong. Some of us try to bury these feelings, claiming they are irrational; carry less weight; or because they are not grounded in science and facts that they somehow are not worthy.
During my working adult life I have worked in male dominated industries such as the motor vehicle industry, extreme sports, IT, photovoltaic, electrical and mechanical engineering, and now, the music industry – another male dominated industry, as well as teaching at an all male private school. I bring the sexes into this discussion simply as they represent archetypal characteristics e.g. intuition being a feminine energy and analysis being a masculine energy. The truth is WE NEED BOTH. Though I feel sometimes it is easy to under value the intuitive side. I remember once being told by someone “not to take things personally” in business meeting, which now quite frankly I laugh at. I mean, how can one not take things personally? Work is linked to our income, which is linked to our ability to provide for ourselves and our loved ones and in most cases, whether rightly or wrongly, is linked to our self-worth and self-esteem. Anyone asking you not to take something personally is simply probably trying to diminish very worthy feelings that I believe you should take note of.
Some studies I have read have provided evidence that, when it comes to making major life decisions, such as who to marry or which house to buy, letting your intuition guide you leads to better consequences than allowing your logical, thinking brain to make the decisions.
Intuition taps into a very ancient, primal part of our brain that reacts immediately and with feeling (which is why we call it the heart, even though it’s in the head). Known as the “limbic” or right side of our brains, used mostly by creatives and emotional types.
This being said, i have sometimes wondered that when experiencing heartbreak or feelings of being down that our chest and heart can actually feel a physical heaviness and pain. I mean, what is that? Turns out, that the physical pain one feels in heartbreak, depression and loss is a very real and tangible experience and in some cases has even meant illness or even death. It’s a good idea to check in with our feelings when making important decisions.
2. Your Pure Self.
From my experience, when you follow your heart and trust your intuition, you are in fact being true to your pure self: the essence of who you are. It feels like you are not ignoring yourself. Whilst our memories skew and alter life experiences to avoid pain, help us move through experiences, or prop ourselves up a little bit higher when telling our stories, I can not think of a time where I followed my heart and was disappointed. On a side note, I believe we are all guilty of recreating our past and telling ourselves (and others) stories to help us cope with the past or to recreate a future that may be more meaningful. Of course some humans are more creative than others when “remembering” their pasts and telling their stories. Bottom line: follow your heart = following your pure self.
3. Connection.
This is the reason I “do” music. “I believe music is a vehicle for which we can channel and express emotions not fully understood. It is my hope that my music can help others feel a little more connected and less alone in this crazy world.”
When we operate from a place of feeling, our ego goes and crawls in a corner and feels sorry for itself. And this is a good thing to do. Frequently. Around the right people, around people worthy of seeing your pure self. When we operate from a place of feeling we are more likely to apologise. We are more likely to cry. We are more likely to laugh. We are more likely to operate from a place of empathy. We are more likely to share honest thoughts and feelings. We are more likely to take responsibility for our feelings and actions. We are more likely to show emotions and when we do this and open up and let others see this emotion, it allows others in turn to feel emotion.
4. Taking Risks
For some reason, following ones heart seems to by synonymous with taking more risk. I have two thoughts on this: One, is that if we use our hearts to guide our decision making processes; we open ourselves to a higher chance of getting hurt. There seems to be something exciting about taking risks: big and small. A little rush. A hit. Equally, whilst we enjoy the high, the come down can be… well, pretty ordinary to say the least. But at least we don’t have that nagging regret of “what if?”. I can’t tell you how many times my decision making process has been guided by the question “What if?” – a favourite quote:
What if I fall? Oh, But darling, what if you fly? ~ Erin Hanson
Secondly, a life without risk, is a dead life. I have been liberated by so many of my own preconceptions and thought processes by jumping, when all logical signs were saying “no”. I’m talking relationships, business, where I live, what I do, who i hang out with, when I decide to do things. Using the analytical part of our brain is associated with ‘safety’. It’s based on statistics. Evaluating patterns. Algorithms. But sometimes I am left feeling “But what if” – and it is at that moment that i usually jump.
5. It Feels Good
I know that we can’t make every single decision on feeling good alone. Trust me, I’d be sleeping in everyday, going to the beach, reading books, probably partying WAYYYYYYYY too much for my own good and travelling the world so I had no money left to pay for the basics. But one thing I like to do every now and then is remind my self that IT’S OK TO FEEL GOOD!
So if you haven’t figured out yet, that my song ‘Follow Your Head‘ is me being a completely sarcastic, then check out the lyrics to Follow Your Head. I hope that you can relate!
You can also listen to the demo here.