Episode 18 Are You Listening?

Join me for a short episode about listening to your inner voice.

Last Sunday I found myself with some unexpected extra time for my run. I was so excited. It had been quite awhile since I had had enough time to complete my neighborhood trail all the way to the end and back without rushing or cutting it short. The weather was nice, no need to rush. Lots of podcasts downloaded. I was really looking forward to the next few hours. Several miles into my run but also more than a mile before the turnaround, I got an uneasy sense that the surroundings were not safe. 

Something was off. 

I have been running this exact trail for 4 years. 

I know every section of it. I don’t scare easily. And I don’t normally feel unsafe running alone. So, to suddenly have the sense of danger was alarming. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was not right. I scanned my surroundings, alert to any changes. I didn’t see anyone or anything that was out of the ordinary. Still, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling. I knew what I had to do. I was going to have to leave the trail and finish on the road going through the neighborhood. Disappointment washed over me. The first time in months that I didn’t have to finish early and I was going to abandon the trail. As I continued toward the exit of the trail, even though I already knew what I was going to do, I considered the options and what each of them would mean.

Option A was to trust my inner voice even though my eyes didn’t see anything amiss and exit the trail at the turnaround point. I could then continue on the road through the neighborhood and pick the trail back up in another section far away from where my spidey senses told me something was off. 

Option B was to trust my eyes over my inner voice and stay on the trail at the turn around. Afterall, I didn’t actually SEE anything or anyone. I had no concrete PROOF that the area was unsafe. It was probably fine. But the only way to find out was to put myself into potential danger. 

I didn’t do that, but the irony was not lost on me that the only possible way to know that my sense of danger was correct would be to turn around and encounter danger. It’s kind of weird. I don’t know if I actually avoided a dangerous situation or not. What I do know is that I trust my inner voice. Always. In this instance, the cost of following my inner voice was a run that was different than I had planned. I’ll never know what the cost of not following my inner voice could have been. And I’m okay with that. 

Years ago when we first moved to San Antonio there was a popular well traveled trail that I ran on. After several times on the trail I began to get the same feeling that I had last week. I didn’t feel safe on that trail. Even though it was a heavily used trail, I had a sense that this was not a safe trail to be on. I listened to my inner voice and I stopped running there. This year, within a couple of weeks, two different people were found dead just off that same trail that I stopped running on years ago because I didn’t feel safe there. One of them had been walking that trail daily for over ten years. 

I had a strong sense of listening to my inner voice even before I found coaching and learned more about how my mind works. The work I have done on myself since getting coached and becoming a coach has only made me more confident in this area. 

For our life coach connection, let’s talk about your inner voice. You may have a different name for it. Instincts, inner voice, the Holy Spirit, a nudging, a feeling, a knowing, a premonition, a sixth sense. Whatever you call it, I have some questions for you. 

Do you recognize it?

What is it telling you?

Do you listen?

There doesn’t have to be direct physical danger involved for our inner voice to be telling us a situation is not right. I’ve listened to countless stories of women who had a sense that something was off, not right or not the right decision for them. They just knew deep inside from a quiet place, but it didn’t make sense on the surface so they didn’t listen and followed through with their original plan-only to find out later that they were correct all along. Something was amiss. This wasn’t the best path or partner for them. Deep down they knew, but they lacked the confidence to listen to that quiet voice. 

Sometimes our inner voice is nudging us TOWARD something rather than away from something. That secret hidden dream you have that seems like such a stretch. The idea that just came from out of nowhere one day. That nudging to take a step in faith. We will never know the opportunities we have missed by not taking action on these nudgings. If we are lucky, they persist or show up in a different form rather than disappearing. Have you ever had the nudging to reach out to someone you haven’t talked to in awhile and then when you do, you find out that they really needed the support of a friend right then? It’s amazing, right?

One of the greatest benefits that I have gained through coaching is the ability to tune out the outside noise so that I can listen to my inner voice. Our inner voice is quiet. It is not going to shout and yell. We need to get still to be able to hear it. As I became more in tune with what the quiet inner voice was saying, my confidence in decision making grew. I can tell you without a doubt that this has helped me through some very difficult times with decisions that about situations that did not have a clear path.

Let’s wrap up this short episode by coming back to our guiding questions about your inner voice:

Do you recognize it?

What is it telling you?

Do you listen?

I hope you will take some time this week to quiet the noise so that you can listen, really listen to what your inner voice is telling you. 

Listen, as we go full steam ahead into what is for many the busiest time of the year, the ability to manage your mind is the difference between enjoying the extra time with family and friends or being depleted by it. I am ready to help you! I have opened up my schedule to take on more end of year clients. No day or time is off limits! I am making myself fully available to get you through the end of 2024 with a well managed mind. When you prioritize your mental and emotional health, everything else improves as well. You can contact me through my website or message me on Facebook. Don’t put it off! The time to act is now!

That’s all I have for you today, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Running to Myself. You can find previous episodes on apple podcasts and Spotify or on my website www.trishastanton.com.  New episodes are released each Monday. You can subscribe on Apple or Spotify to automatically receive each new episode as it comes out. 

If you know someone who you think would enjoy this podcast, please share it with them! I will be back next week to share a little more about my training journey on the road to discovering my truest self.

In the meantime, if you want to know more about my coaching program or have questions about one-on-one coaching or life coaching in general, please visit my website at www.trishastanton.com or my Facebook Group The Simple Truth Coaching. I would love to hear from you!

Have a great week and remember, Mindset Matters!