Self Trust During Isolation: Learning To Let Your Intuition Guide You
The core of confidence: trusting yourself …
“Self-trust: listening to and following through with what's going on inside of you. Your intuition is the tool that sends you these messages- it helps form your inner dialogue and gut reactions.
Partial isolation is a difficult time, while we are stuck inside our homes, being surrounded by external messages from the news, friends, family, partners. You might feel a mismatch between how you're feeling inside as your truth and others opinion of the news.
Perhaps whilst the external noise becomes louder, your inner voice gets quieter, and we begin the process of doubting it.
“Will it really be ok?”
“Am I still safe?”
“What will happen to my job?”
“Will I lose my friends?”
and so on, and so on.
Whilst these messages may not be new (an overthinking mind might have played this script in the past), they’re now given all our attention, as we spend our days in limited spaces. The thoughts feel much louder.
I've often felt insecure growing up, as is the case for many teenagers and young women, and I always considered that self-doubt was a normality of life, because it was normal in mine.
As a child I used to believe every single word that adults told me, I was very obedient to those in positions of authority, and if a professor or my parents told me that "they knew better and I should follow their advice", I simply didn't question it. It made sense- more years of life equals more wisdom, right?
Well, as I know now, not always. Especially when it comes to the thoughts and opinions about someone else's life.
“You cannot control the storm, only your own little boat. But there is so much wisdom in it”
What I’ve come to realise over the years, is that no one truly knows what's better for you than your intuition. That quiet voice can be easy to dismiss amongst the noise, but it does in fact know better.
I naturally became a people pleaser, finding my joy in making other people happy, even if it meant dimming my own light. It wasn’t until I discovered that people pleasing was a form of dismissing my own thoughts, opinions and needs that I realise it wasn't doing good to me or the other person. Since that realisation, I’ve spent the last 8 years slowly shedding the layers little by little
During the past months of quarantine, that noise has started to get louder again, taking me on an emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows. I’ve had to go back to my practice of trusting myself every single day
Doing so takes time. I place both hands on my heart, breathe deeply, and let my overthinking subside until I feel calm again. I’m able to reconnect to that deep unshakable strength. And if all else fails, dancing it out makes the world of difference
It’s a beautiful feeling to go back to trusting yourself- the awareness that right now that is your truth, something you need, and how to provide it for yourself. It builds up like a muscle every time you feel confident about that inner wisdom.
The way I see it, it’s like being on a boat during a storm. The sea is agitated, it’s raining, you don’t know where you’re going and you’re left with two choices: putting hope in the wind and letting yourself be pulled from side to side in the hope of a safe ending, or keeping your hands on the wheel, learning to guide the boat and knowing that no matter the storm, you will be fine.
You cannot control the storm, only your own little boat. But there is so much wisdom in it.”
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To read more from Alessia, head to her Instagram (@alessiagandolfocoaching) and dive into her coaching content designed to help millennial women thrive in the workplace!