Trusting Your Intuition: The Key to Aligning Your Business and Life
Understanding Intuition and Gut Instincts
Andrea Crisp, an empowerment coach and entrepreneur, emphasizes the distinction between intuition and gut instincts. While commonly used interchangeably, they have subtle differences that are crucial for making aligned decisions.
Gut Instincts: These are immediate, physiological reactions to situations. They are often felt as a "gut feeling" and can be a result of past experiences and learning.
Intuition: This involves a deeper, more reflective understanding. Intuition integrates subconscious knowledge, emotional intelligence, and a higher sense of awareness or God-consciousness, as Andrea describes.
Understanding these differences is the first step towards effectively utilizing both in your decision-making process.
The Shiny Object Syndrome: A Common Pitfall
Both Andrea and Amy highlighted the detrimental impact of the "shiny object syndrome"—the tendency to constantly shift focus to new, attractive ideas and strategies. Many entrepreneurs face this when they try to implement numerous methodologies from various experts, only to feel overwhelmed and directionless.
With her background in human design, Andrea noted how understanding one's inherent traits and open centers can explain this behavior. For instance, individuals like Andrea, with open centers, are naturally more susceptible to absorbing external stimuli and advice.
The key takeaway here is self-awareness. Recognize if you're falling into this trap and consciously decide to either step back or carefully choose the guidance that truly resonates with you.
Cultivating Intuition: Practical Steps
1. Self-Awareness and Reflection:
Begin by developing a keen sense of self-awareness. Regularly ask yourself, "How am I feeling?" This question promotes introspection and helps identify whether your actions are aligned with your inner values and desires.
2. Quieting the Noise:
Create time to disconnect from external influences. As Amy mentioned, taking quarterly reviews and dedicating time to focus solely on your business and personal well-being can offer immense clarity.
3. Decision-Making with Intuition:
When faced with a critical decision, allow yourself to lean into the discomfort of the unknown. Trust that your intuition, coupled with your higher self or God-consciousness, will lead you in the right direction.
4. Detaching from Outcomes:
After making a decision based on intuition, practice detaching from the outcome. Releasing the need to control the results allows for a more natural unfolding of events, often leading to unexpected and beneficial outcomes.
Embracing Fear and Adversity
Fear is a natural part of stepping into the unknown. Amy shared her personal experience of transitioning her career during the pandemic—shedding light on how fear of failure can be mitigated by reframing the narrative. Instead of focusing on potential losses, shift your focus to the array of possibilities and growth opportunities that lie ahead.
Amy also stressed the importance of questioning limiting beliefs and societal norms. Breaking free from generational cycles and expectations allows not only for personal growth but also sets an empowering example for others, including children, clients, and peers.
Conclusion: The Ripple Effect of Trusting Yourself
Learning to trust your intuition is not just about making better business decisions; it's about living a life that feels genuinely yours. As Andrea pointed out, when we trust ourselves, we inspire others to do the same. This ripple effect can lead to a more authentic and fulfilling existence for everyone around us.
With practice, patience, and self-awareness, you can cultivate a deeply intuitive practice that aligns your business efforts with your personal values and higher purposes. So, take that step today—lean into your intuition, embrace the unknown, and watch as your life and business thrive in harmony.
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Transcript for Episode 327. How to Trust Your Intuition and Grow Your Business
Amy [00:00:02]:
Learning to trust your gut. It's one of those things that we hear so often. Yet really, are you, are you learning to trust your gut, or are you just going off of what everyone else has told you that you should be doing, how you should be feeling, how you should be running your business? All of these mindset shifts are essential to growing a business that feels aligned, that feels good, that doesn't feel like a burden. And today's guest, Andrea Crisp, is an empowerment coach, and she is here to shed light on this topic that so many of us resonate with. We know we need to trust ourselves. We know we need to trust our guy. But how? How do we do that? So, in today's episode, we are going to unpack it all. And with that being said, andrea, welcome into the podcast.
Andrea [00:00:52]:
Thank you for having me, Amy. It's so good to be here.
Amy [00:00:55]:
Oh, I'm so excited for this conversation. Just so many of the things that you say on social media and on your podcast, they just hit a lot of times. You know, you're saying something like, is she talking directly to me? It's just kind of wild. So tell us just a little bit about yourself before we dive in and unpack this topic today.
Andrea [00:01:16]:
Well, I'm. First of all, I'm canadian. I always like to, like, say that because oftentimes people will hear me speak and they're, where is she from? So I'm actually a northern Ontario. I like to say that I'm a city girl living in a small town, and I love doing my business. I actually have two of them. Not a lot of people know that I am an empowerment coach as well as a vocal teacher. And so I've been doing that for many, many years. And I'm an author, a podcast host.
Andrea [00:01:52]:
I do all sorts of things. But I am also a dog mom. So that kind of, you know, wraps everything up in a little bow for me. But, yeah, I'm just. That's just me.
Amy [00:02:04]:
I love it. Oh, my gosh. I did not know that about you, that you are really vocal coach. No, no. I was today years old. So that's.
Andrea [00:02:12]:
There you go. If you ever want to take singing lessons, let me know.
Amy [00:02:16]:
Well, I mean, I know my limits. We were just talking about this before we hit record, about how I know I'm not a runner and I'm okay with not being a runner. Not sure how I ended up with a kid that's an awesome swimmer and an awesome runner. This mama has no endurance at all, so. But anyways, let's dive into this topic. Trusting your gut, really leaning into that. Why is that so gosh darn hard to do?
Andrea [00:02:47]:
I would have to say that it's been one of the things that I've struggled with the most same, and yet probably is one of my biggest assets when I use it correctly. So I think that when I first started my entrepreneurial journey, I just took the advice of everyone who had gone before me, and I'll tell you what it was like listening to, you know, so many different people in the industry trying to take their advice, trying to implement all of these things that they were offering, and they were really, really great things. Back in the day, when I first started, there were know all the big entrepreneurs. They were just kind of coming up in the ranks. And so I bought into all of these programs. I took everything that they said and tried to do it, and I did not grow my business. And so it was very deflating, and it really cost me a lot in both financially and also emotionally because, and energetically, because I was just wasting so much time and money and energy and then really just not trusting myself and not trusting that there was something that was leading and guiding me that I could, like, listen to. And so I think that it's important to be able to tap into your intuition, what that looks like for you.
Andrea [00:04:17]:
And. And I know from experience that when I do, like, things open up for me, uh, when I don't, I feel low energy and burnt out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amy [00:04:31]:
That's something a lot of us can relate to. I mean, myself included. It is hard to trust your gut, but when you learn to lean into that and really leverage that, business gets to be fun. Business doesn't feel like a burden because now we're running our own race. You know, as cliche as it is, all of the strategy out there works. It's about figuring out what works you.
Andrea [00:04:59]:
It's so true, Amy. It's so true. Because, you know, you look at or you listen to different coaches, and they're talking about all of the things that, you know, they offer within their, their particular offers, and it's easy to go, oh, I would love to do that. Oh, I would love to do that, too, and have that shiny object syndrome and think, oh, this coach is, you know, this is her sweet spot or his sweet spot, and you just kind of like going. Bouncing from one to the next to the next. But I think trusting yourself to either a be led to the right person or the right program or knowing when it's time for you to step back completely and not be in someone's, you know, program or mastermind or, you know, whatever they're offering and just really, you know, do the work or listen for yourself. I think that's the important part. Right.
Andrea [00:05:50]:
And then not thinking that you have to do what your biz bestie is doing as well and what, you know, everybody else is doing online, because that may not be the thing that you need to do right now. So.
Amy [00:06:02]:
Yeah, that shiny object syndrome is real. It is.
Andrea [00:06:06]:
It really is, yeah.
Amy [00:06:08]:
And it just. It's. It's heartbreaking to see so many people pivoting so often because they don't have that clarity, because they're not taking the time to quiet the noise and listen to their gut, listen to their intuition. Now, in your opinion, are your, like, gut instincts and intuition, are those one in the same, or are those two different things?
Andrea [00:06:32]:
Uh, okay, well, I think maybe two different things. First of all, I'll jump to this. Are you familiar with human design?
Amy [00:06:44]:
I am.
Andrea [00:06:44]:
Are your listeners okay, so I'm. I'm assuming that your listeners are as well.
Amy [00:06:48]:
We've definitely done episodes on that for sure.
Andrea [00:06:50]:
So, like, for me, when I understood my human design, I started to really look into, like, what were my open centers. Now, I'm not a human design coach, so, please, I'm not the expert. However, um, when I started to recognize that I had a open head, open ajna. Open throat, and I was taking in everything and absorbing everything that people were saying, I started to understand why I was falling into shiny object syndrome, because that is how I'm wired. So it is very normal for me to listen to, like, you write a book, I read your book, and I'm like, oh, this. These principles are amazing. I have to do everything that Amy says. And then I read another coach's book.
Andrea [00:07:43]:
Oh, my gosh, this is awesome. I've got to do everything this coach says, and then all of a sudden, I'm in the shiny object syndrome, and I'm literally just absorbing everything that I'm seeing or hearing. Now, that's me personally because of how I'm wired. But then I started to recognize that my intuition was what leads me to really understand what decisions are good for me, and that is, you know, understanding how I am able to make decisions. Now, here's where I'm answering it. Like, it's two things. Okay? So I really believe that there is our ability to tap into what is good for us, and then there's the ability for us or the capacity for us to tap into what I call God consciousness, our higher selves, and to really connect with something bigger than ourselves and knowing that we can, um, almost like, bypass even us, really. So if I'm tapped into my intuition, I'm tapping into what is directly what I feel like is good for me.
Andrea [00:09:00]:
And then I'm also able to go into, like, that next level, that God consciousness, that higher self, and go, okay, well, what is, like even, what am I being directed to do that I wouldn't even choose or that I might not see for myself right now because that's beyond even what I can my scope. And so I think really understanding that, yes, we can tap into our intuition, but we can also tap into something even greater than us and see, well, what's on the horizon and how can we move into that. So I don't know if that answers it or makes.
Amy [00:09:36]:
It really does. It sheds a lot of light on that because we are all here for a higher purpose. And I think so often we forget that. We forget that, okay, we, we can build a legacy. We can create so something so much bigger than us if we lean into ourselves, if we take the time to really develop ourselves personally and do the inner work. And I know we hear this all the time, but this is really, truly important that you are making the time to discover how do you work best? How do you function, really having that self awareness and that emotional intelligence? That's the key. Because when you know how you function, you can use that as a strength. You can use that as fuel to help you grow so that you can keep those blinders on and do things your way in a way that feels good, a way that's sustainable.
Amy [00:10:38]:
Because when we're doing what everybody else wants us to do, you can't sustain that for any length of time. That is a fast track to burnout. I've been there. I think we all have at one point or another. You know, we've bought into all these things, hoping for this quick transformation. But until you truly know yourself, that's an uphill battle that you're going to be fighting over and over and over.
Andrea [00:11:03]:
Yeah, no, that's good, Amy. Like, I really think that when we are doing that inner work, it's so important to understand how to know how to become self aware. I think a lot of us are think that we're self aware, but then we're not really even as self aware as we probably could be. And we're just literally thinking, okay, what's, what's good for now.
Amy [00:11:27]:
Yeah.
Andrea [00:11:28]:
And not how do we tapping into. Yeah. And tapping into that. That part of us, it's like, okay, well, how do I know what is good for me? Or what are. What am I bumping up against? What limitations am I buying into? Am I in a victim mindset? Am I blocking myself from what it is that I desire, like, all of those things, and understanding? Or how am I feeling? And knowing that our emotions play into this just as much as. As anything else does.
Amy [00:11:55]:
So, yeah, yeah, that's a really important question to ask yourself. How am I feeling? And that's something I actually include in my quarterly review when I black out time on my schedule to just focus on my business. That is the number one question. How am I feeling? Because I think that a lot of times, we're so busy in the hustle, we're busy in the busy that we forget to check in with ourselves. And we don't ask ourselves, how am I feeling? Because a lot of times, that's the missing piece. That'll be the key to telling us, okay, we. We're headed down the road at 90 miles an hour in the wrong direction, because this might not be getting us closer to the outcome that we really want.
Andrea [00:12:36]:
Yeah, yeah, no, that's good. I love that you take that time, you know, that you set that side aside, that time to do that. I don't know that as many entrepreneurs are really doing what the inner work requires of them. And, you know, just kind of skating by on if I hustle or I do good work or, you know, and that will get you so far that that will build you a really good business, but it might not build you a really good life.
Amy [00:13:08]:
Yes. And isn't that what we're all striving for at the end of the day? Yeah, about that time, freedom, about that location. Freedom, the ability to live this one life, because right now, this moment is the only thing that's guaranteed. So, for me, that was a big eye opener back during the pandemic when the world shut down. It's like, do I want to continue on this path that I've been headed down? Because I thought I knew what I wanted to do when I was 18 years old. No, that was a huge wake up call that I realized this isn't the right path for me. And that's okay. Really taking the time to pause and actually listen to clear those thoughts in my head because, yeah, I was just busy being busy.
Amy [00:13:50]:
I'm like, okay, well, I paid a lot of money for this degree. I went to school for a long time for this piece of paper on the wall, you know, how many of us have, and we just accept this mediocre life when we are made for so much more.
Andrea [00:14:06]:
Yes. Now for you, when you were thinking about, like, shifting, shifting your career and changing what was, like, the biggest thing that you had to move through?
Amy [00:14:16]:
Fear. It was fear of what if. What if I don't succeed? What if, you know, everything falls apart. But then when I started having, okay, first of all, that awareness and then questioning those thoughts, that was really key questioning, okay, well, what happens if I, quote unquote, fail? Well, guess what? I still have a degree. I can go back to said field and find another job somewhere. There are always going to be ways to make money. Money is infinite. My life is not.
Amy [00:14:48]:
I want to be able to live a life without regrets because I remember still, it was one of those, like, beautiful spring days at the height of the pandemic. My kids are playing without a care in the world. And it hit me, like, I am missing this. I will never get back this moment in time, no matter how stable of a career I think that I have, like, anything can happen. And I think that that was really the wake up call for so many of us to finally give ourselves permission to try and not the life of, well, what would have happened if I would have gone for it?
Andrea [00:15:23]:
Yeah. And, you know, and to, you know, build something that you have that freedom in your life and an impact, too, right?
Amy [00:15:33]:
Right. Oh, my gosh. Absolutely. And then, too, you know, those around us, I feel like sometimes us being courageous gives other people permission then to leaning and go after their dreams. I'm a mom, so I see it in my kids. They're like, wow, that's really cool. I mean, my daughter, she wrote me a little mother's Day card, and she's like, I am so proud of you for writing a book, for going after your dreams. Like, oh, that's like they're always watching.
Andrea [00:16:01]:
Yes.
Amy [00:16:01]:
You know, we're always in different capacities, that we're inspiring people, that we don't even realize the work we're doing has such a ripple effect that we don't even see happening, but is really right there, right out in front of us.
Andrea [00:16:18]:
And I love that you're, you're mentioning, you know, your kids, because I think when you're trusting your intuition, not only, you know, I don't have children, but not only are you allowing yourself to lean into what is good for you and how you're wired and, and really moving into, into that, but you're also able to really help other people to do the same thing. So whether it's, you know, your clients, whether it's your kids, whether it's both and really allowing them to step into how they want to live their lives, because I think we all have to unpack that, you know, family of origin, what is it expected of us? And our little intuitive nudges are maybe leading us in a different direction. And our families might be like, what are you doing? That's not how we do it. And you are leading the way by, you know, saying, hey, if this is what you love and this is what you want to do, then do it. Learn about it. Now, like your daughter, you said she's, you know, into running and doing all of this, you know, right now at, at a young age and knowing that she can trust herself to build these really beautiful foundational pieces for her life is going to serve her. Whether or not she goes into a trade, whether she becomes a teacher, whether she becomes an entrepreneur, doesn't really matter what she does, right? Yeah.
Amy [00:17:51]:
But breaking some of those generational cycles, I mean, that is something I had to work through because. Absolutely. And I think it was others in my world trying to keep me safe because that's what they were and that's what their parents were taught. It's okay, you go to school, you get the degree, you get a job, you work, you retire, then you live.
Andrea [00:18:11]:
Yes, but it didn't make sense to me.
Amy [00:18:13]:
I'm like, well, wait a minute, I want to live now, maybe 65, and hopefully I've saved up enough to retire. Oh, wait, no, we're going to bump the retirement age back and back and back. And it's like, why? Why are we doing this? So to be the one that's like, no, I'm going to break the cycle. And I know you're telling me like, oh, are you sure this is a good idea? Because you're trying to keep me safe, and that's okay. But once you realize that, okay, that's just their thoughts, their beliefs, the possibility, and the opportunities are beautiful because they're everywhere around us. We just so often are focused on what we could lose versus everything that we could gain.
Andrea [00:18:54]:
Absolutely. Now I have a question for you. Have you always been optimistic? Is that a natural thing in you?
Amy [00:19:01]:
You know, I think I always have been somewhat optimistic, but I really feel like the process of becoming an entrepreneur and growing different businesses has really made me focus on the personal growth aspect, really focus on leaning into myself and having that self awareness. And it's really interesting for me now because I can take that step back and kind of view things from a different perspective, and I can identify exactly where a lot of these. These patterns and beliefs were rooted because I took the time to do that. I'm like, ooh. And I see it all the time. And I'll tell my husband, I'm like, hey, I know exactly why this is going on. And, you know, it's just really interesting when you can remove yourself from that situation and have that. That clarity.
Andrea [00:19:51]:
Yeah. And you. You strike me as someone, like, when I just haven't known you for the short time that I do, that you are. You have an ability to have that optimism that many maybe don't.
Amy [00:20:07]:
Yeah.
Andrea [00:20:07]:
And you carry that, which I think is really beautiful. I just want to say that because I think oftentimes when. When people are struggling with, like, the fear thoughts or limiting beliefs, it feels very, um, like they're living out, um, being a victim. And it's almost like you have been able to transcend that and be like, okay, yeah, these are my limiting beliefs, but you're optimistically moving through them, which I think is beautiful. Is so beautiful. I want to say, like, it's really cool to see that because it's not very often you do see that.
Amy [00:20:44]:
Thank you.
Andrea [00:20:44]:
And a lot of the times, it's. It can be, people are in a lot of pain around it, but you seem to, like, really be able to, like, go, okay, no. What's the bright side of this? And then move through it.
Amy [00:20:56]:
Yeah.
Andrea [00:20:57]:
Now, I'm not sure if that's how it actually works for you, but that's what it seems like. Yeah.
Amy [00:21:02]:
And, I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't walk around with rose colored glasses on all day long. You know, it's not about, like, having a Pollyanna complex, but it's about, okay, in life, there's very few things that we can control, but I can control my attitude. I can control my perception of events. And if I'm trying to see every obstacle as to, you know, what. What's the lesson in this? What is this piece of adversity? What can I learn from this so that I can benefit from it? That right there's been a game changer, and it's taken practice because life throw me some major curveballs, and that's okay. But looking back, that's where I've experienced that growth is through that adversity, through those challenges. And that right there is powerful, because now these are skills that I can teach others.
Amy [00:21:49]:
I can teach my kiddos. So that hopefully, they don't have to repeat the same things that I've gone through. So I think some of it is innate, and I think a lot of it, too, is just really practice, really having that self awareness, taking the time to practice and build that resilience.
Andrea [00:22:08]:
Yeah, that's beautiful. I love that.
Amy [00:22:11]:
Thank you. Now, what advice can you give to our listeners that are like, you know what? I know I need to do it. How can we learn to really lean into our intuition? And this is a loaded question. I mean, it's way easier to say than to do so what is it?
Andrea [00:22:29]:
Well, I think, I think I would say to anyone who's, like, in that place or, like, I need to trust my intuition. It is to make that tough decision that might be right in front of you right now that you know you need to lean into, but it feels really scary and you don't have a sure result. And it's not like, oh, if I do this, I'm going to guarantee the outcome. But it's almost like maybe this might work and my intuition is leading me into that. Or it might even feel as though, like they're, you know, this is the craziest thing ever. Why would I ever do this? But you're being given that nudge to do it. I would say lean into it and trust yourself and get quiet and then just do it. And then when, once you've done it, here's the biggest thing I say.
Andrea [00:23:23]:
A lot of times we're, we're waiting with bated breath after words like, okay, now what? Right? And then wanting to reach back in and, and pull it back and control it and go, okay, well, you know, my ego is at play now. My ego wants to get in and control and make things happen. And that's when you want to detach from the outcome and say, okay, I trust myself enough and I trust God consciousness enough to really let it go, release it and detach from the outcome. And you might have to do that a few times over and get the experience of doing that and how it feels for it to feel less clunky, because it probably is going to feel a bit clunky when you first start doing it.
Amy [00:24:09]:
It's a skill. It's a skill that you can get better at. It just takes practice.
Andrea [00:24:14]:
Yes.
Amy [00:24:15]:
Andrea, thank you so, so much for taking time to pour into listeners today. Where can we learn more about you? How can we get into your world? Tell us all the things.
Andrea [00:24:26]:
Well, you can find me on Instagram, Andrea Crispcoach, or you can find me on the courage cast, which is the podcast that I have. I'm an Og. We were talking about that OG podcaster. You can find me over there and I'd love to connect with anyone who is listening today.
Amy [00:24:43]:
Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing such great takeaways. And until next time, cheers to making the money you want so you can create the impact you desire.
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