Meridian Coaching & Consulting Blog

Over the course of your life, you probably have received an enormous amount of advice and much of it unsolicited.  Even worse is the paradoxical advice, “an unexamined life is not worth living” or “too much information is a dangerous thing.”  Life is full of these experiences; with all this input, how do you best decide what’s right for your life?   

Step One – Recognize that the opinions and advice of others—is merely information for making your own decisions—even the well-meaning advice from people we respect, fear or love.  The essential thing is to remember is that while others love to give advice—it’s not their life—it’s yours.  Accepting this requires clear thought; a mindset that that cuts through the competing voices so that you can listen to your own.

Step Two – Know that you have within you everything you need to make the best decision for yourself; it starts with an integrated approach.  Examine the options through your three centers of intelligence: Head, Heart and Gut, with each center furnishing you with unique perspectives.  Think of a decision you want to make, big or small, and ask yourself the following questions and write down your initial thoughts; don’t ponder too long on any one question:

• Head (Intellect/Rational) – Do I have enough facts, data, history, analysis, details or examples?  What do I think after sifting through the information?  How will this help the situation?
• Heart (Feelings/Emotions) – What emotions am I feeling (scared, exhilarated, worried, unconfident, sad or happy)?  What does my heart say about the situation?  How does knowing how I feel help me make a better decision?
• Gut (Intuition/Wisdom) – What does my body intuit; what is my gut sense?  Do I sense the situation, idea or the person is right, wrong, dangerous or unclear?  What does this information tell me about what I need or should do? 

Step Three – Gain clarity; create a space to inspect and reflect on your choices before you take action.  This interrupts your brain from its predictable drive for using the same old patterns for quick and comfortable decision-making.  Instead reflect on the varied but connected answers from your three center of intelligence.  While the answers may be different for each center, combined they serve 100% of your needs for making good choices. 

Your three centers of intelligence provide access to every bit of knowledge, talent and wisdom that you possess.  This deepens your self-knowledge, increases your confidence and expands your decision-making comfort zone.  If a decision doesn’t work out, you have the experience of what to do the next time, and that is something you can trust.