Happy April, women and womxn—I can’t believe it. We’re here. And, admittedly, this post may be a little bit of a vent fest because it feels like time is moving on and I’m not haha!

I just wrapped up one stage of a project–or so I thought–thinking that I’d be moving on to the next chapter of it. I dedicated a lot of time and energy to this, fretted over it for weeks, and received what’s really good feedback on it. If you’re curious, I mentioned it in last week’s post and you can check it out by clicking here.

But I’m not moving forward. Not even a smidge. It’s a redo, basically, or recraft; however you want to look at it.

Now…there were tears and shock. No swear words, only because I couldn’t compute for a moment what was going on.

You know when you think you’ve got something good and you’re proud of it, but it needs more work? Or the Universe is suggesting another view of it? Which will take more work, time, and energy.

So, as I sit here a little dumb-founded with y’all today, I’ve just been hanging for a minute trying to process and reflect. And guess what came across my newsfeed this morning?

Intuition: When is it right to trust your gut instincts? Hmmm…”Never,” I said to myself, in frustration.

But post-pout and reaction, I actually read the damn thing and learned something (like usual).

I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but I’m cutting to the chase so you can also get some help if you’re trying to trust your gut while working on things, too. Or, you feel like you judge a situation one way, but you can’t quite gauge what’s going on. Today’s lil’ post is for you, my friends.

Tip #1: Knowledge, Experience, and Intuition Matter

As the article and research shows, I can see as we continue to live in our experiences, how our intuition or gut feelings can be shaped and re-shaped. I don’t want to say it’s a “given,” it just means we need to sit and listen to ourselves—the deeper part of us, not the egoic, pissed and emotional side of us.

Noted.

Tip #2: Unconscious Biases Can Shape Our Decisions

This one seems simple, but there’s some complexity here. From our lived knowledge-building and being around who’s influenced our life—like family, caretakers, systems—we filter input and output. This is a pretty normal part of our human experience, but it can be problematic.

Perfectionism and needing to get things done right as a “one and done” version of whatever I’m doing… Not. Helpful. People. We have “drafts of our life” so what’s so wrong with “drafts of a project?” Yeah, I’m going to sit with that today and try to allow for what is happening, even if I don’t like it.

Tip #3: Reflecting on Our Emotions Helps the Process

Again, read the article if you’re interested—don’t just take my word on this because I have my own biases and experiences.

But, like I’ve said a million times here on FSW, we have to let the feelings come, sit with them (not too long), release, and in a healed manner move forward. Also, researchers found that if completely vexed and overwhelmed, taking a breather or doing an “unrelated activity,” can help. Meaning, taking a minute to “not make that decision” or pausing to walk away from the project can help intuition or the answer, perhaps, come up with less noise from our headspace.

So, life lesson #539 for you and I: Maybe right now is not the time to push this stage of the project forward. It could get better, be improved upon, and then, perhaps, have a larger impact. Who knows.

But, I’m going to sit with all The Feels, the emotions of WTH, and a reflective time of silence. After that, I’ll do a wholly unrelated activity, like quilting, for a time. Maybe after going with an ebb and flow kind of day after work, things will feel clearer or less heavy once again.

Thanks for listening to my moment and while it was more focused on this recent experience, I hope that you find these words helpful. Just know that you, too, will get through what you’re facing. We’re all in this lifetime together and we can work this out one step at a time (even if we want to kick up the pace).

That’s it for this week! If you’re looking for more direct updates on the FSW world and want more direct connection, check out the FSW Circle. Want more independent research? Hit up the FSW Quiz, and if you have any questions or comments, leave them below or contact me 1:1 this way. Chat with you soon!