Trust at First Nudge
When I stopped looking for signier signs and started trusting my intuition the first time.
Ever look for signs that you're on the right track or making the right decision in your business or on the page?
I've gotten into a habit of receiving a sign and asking for another one to confirm. By the way, this is 100% ego at work.
This is a terrible habit that I put an end to the other week.
Let me back up...
A couple of weeks ago, my son (almost 15) had an opportunity to move to the northeast to go to a hockey prep school. He'd live with his team in a dorm, bus to a private school, and invest lots of time each day into his training and development. It's a natural progression for someone like him who's serious about his sport.
Initial intuition: Exciting, but he's too young to move out. Especially that far away (heart). I talked myself out of it (brain), thinking that it could just have been a limiting belief. Besides, I know lots of parents whose kids are in prep schools, boarding schools, or billeting with another hockey family.
We decided to move ahead and schedule a tour and a skate. They already saw video of him playing and said he was in. My husband was going to travel there with him to make sure it was a smart move.
Fast forward to the day of their flight. Before leaving for the airport, we find out it's three hours delayed. Shit. This would put them at their hotel at 2:00 a.m., giving them just five hours of sleep before the tour and skate. Would it be smart for him to play after traveling and such little sleep?
Intuition: My husband's kicked in here too. He says this flight delay is dumb, it's a sign, and we should cancel (heart). I told him to check with our son before canceling (brain).
We head to the airport for their (still) late flight.
Intuition: On the way to the airport, I felt a heavy feeling in my throat. I didn't say anything. I felt the sense of an emergency happening on the plane. I felt something happening to my husband, and my son freaking out. I told myself it was just old nerves that I used to have about flying (brain).
Give them big hugs and kisses at drop off, drive home, go to bed.
I knew their flight was supposed to land around 2:30 a.m. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. (unprovoked) and turned on my phone to check if they landed.
Then the messages started... I had a few unread messages from my husband, and he was still typing. What was going on?
First message... (paraphrasing): "How many signs are we supposed to have that this trip shouldn't happen? As the plane was taxiing, a drunk guy started throwing up. They had to take him back to the gate. We're not going to land til after 3 now."
I'm trying to get my eyes to clear so I can read the messages.
Second message ... (paraphrasing): "I laid back to go to sleep and hear son's water bottle hit the floor. Look over and he's convulsing. He was unresponsive for 5-10 minutes (later we recognize we have no idea how long it was). Now he's shivering under 3 blankets and coats. The ambulance will meet us when we land and take us to the hospital."
I'm still trying to clear my eyes. Who's he talking about? Some other kid? All I could respond was "what???"
Intuition: He'll be okay. Everything's okay (heart). I shouldn't have let them go (brain).
At this point, he was responding, just shaken. He didn't remember a thing and woke up to six people asking him questions. There were two doctors on board (thank you, God) who helped. They were about 30 minutes from landing when I got the message. J met the paramedics at the gate and walked off the plane (a good sign, and they were surprised lol). I got to talk to him in the ambulance, where all his field tests were normal, and he looked good. He was in good spirits.
Fast forward through a day of tests and lots of waiting ... EEG, MRI, blood, urine... everything checks out normal. They think it may have been a seizure. It's never happened before.
Update: he's doing just fine, back to regular, active life. We're keeping an extra watchful eye on him and scheduling all appropriate follow-ups for further testing. Praying it was an isolated incident.
Intuition: He's definitely not meant to move out this year. Even though he's bummed because he still wanted to go even after all this (heart). Silence (brain).
This was my (very strong) message to stop looking for the signier sign and listen to the first one.
I see this in writing all the time. Maybe you do too?
THIS
The very first few words that fall out of your fingertips when you're not thinking feel good, honest, authentic (heart). But then you go to edit and question every word, wonder who you are to write this, how will you promote it? (brain).
TRUST your instincts. TRUST your intuition. Your body knows the right thing to do. Your body knows the words. Let the words out. Trust that they came out exactly as they were supposed to.
And yes, you can edit. But go lightly. Correct spelling, tidy it up, make the meaning clear, but stay out of your head. Stick with your gut. It knows what it wants to say.
💜 Thanks for reading!
For fast, intuitive writing, embrace the SFD
I believe that real writers write as often as they want. And when you do write, write fast AF (to keep the brain quiet)
I’m committed to building a writing life around authenticity, connection, and intuition. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me encouraging people to share their stories.
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This story is so raw and real. And the lesson of not questioning our intuition! We don’t need signier signs!
Your recent article that came out today (also amazing) reminded me that I had read this one on-the-go a couple weeks ago and had wanted to comment. I remember being shocked at all of the details! Learning more about what had happened. Just wow. So glad to know all is well now 🙏🏼💜
And love how you tied your experience into trusting our intuition when we write. Thank you for sharing this!
So glad all is well with your son! ❤️ And wow what a reminder, thank you for sharing 🙏🏽