Let Your Gut Speak Before Your Head Answers

When Maria, a director at a marketing agency, was offered a leadership role on a rapid-growth account, her head raced through pros and cons. She ran the financials, checked the team dynamics, and weighed her workload. Everything made sense on paper. Yet when she closed her eyes and pictured saying “yes,” her chest clenched and her stomach lurched. She paused. On the night of sleepless worry, a calm moment came when she visualized turning down the role: a gentle warmth flooded her chest. She realized her gut was warning that the move would stretch her too thin. She politely declined—and a few months later won an even better leadership offer that fit her strengths and left her energized. Neuroscience calls these "somatic markers"—bodily signals routed through the insula and ventromedial prefrontal cortex—that guide decisions faster than conscious reasoning alone.

First you pause and take a moment to notice subtle body sensations—tightness, warmth, or fluttering—that arise when you face a decision. Then you deliberately conjure each option in your mind’s eye, noticing which one sparks a light, energizing feeling and which one triggers a knot. Finally, you write down that gut sense and later compare outcomes so you learn which bodily cues you can trust. Start with today’s small choices and let your body be your compass.