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How many of you have ever made a big life decision solely based on logic?
Quite a few of you.
Well, can you imagine turning down your dream job,
moving across the country and applying to Stanford.
All because your body said so.
Well, that's what I did.
You see, a few years ago, I made a discovery about my intuition,
what I now call body wisdom that has profoundly changed the way I
think about the world and make every single decisionin my life.
Intuition is a hot topic, a quick Google search and
you will find thousands of articles on mindful hitting and trusting your gut.
But my intuition started a really long time ago.
It started when I was ten years old.
I remember staring at this quarter in a jar.
If it lands on heads, I'll tell
them please don't be heads.
Heads, two to three.
Don't be heads come on, don't be heads Heads,
I flipped this coin more than 10 times until I finally mustered
up the courage to slit a note underneath my family's door.
Mom, Dad, I'm gay my body immediately opens up like
an exhale after attempting to hold your breath.
I felt warm and grounded, free.
And my parents did as many would do,
suggest that I wait until I was older, to be sure.
And that's what I did.
The next day in social studies class, I blocked that night from my mind.
And it worked for eight years, I'd remain closeted.
And I would channel this energy into my personal computer and building websites.
Tech became my outlet, the perfect distraction,
until I was 18 years old.
Hey Mom and Dad remember that note I wrote you like eight years ago?
Turns out big surprise I am gay.
But what did I forget all those years, those eight long years.
For a long time, I thought I simply forgot my sexual orientation.
But it's bigger than that.
What I see now that I have forgotten was my intuition, my body wisdom,
the part of me the part of all of us that knows exactly who we are and what we need.
So what is body wisdom?
Let's define it.
Body wisdom are the signals your body gives you
when he either needs something from you or when you ask it a question.
When your stomach grouse, what do we do?
We eat, when we yawn, we sleep.
These are all moments our bodies communicate with us, and
thank God we listen, or else we'd be hungry all the time.
So, can you imagine if you could trust your body,
just like when your stomach grouse in the face of a difficult decision.
.We'd have less anxiety, less decision fatigue and maybe even less regret.
I call this the body wisdom cycle and it's a very simple idea.
First, your body communicates with you in the face of a decision.
You then make a choice and listen to your body that's aligned with what it's saying.
Then third, you signal back to your brain, I trust myself.
Because if you trust your body, you trust yourself and
if you trust yourself, you're free.
And what if I was to tell you that this is actually rooted in science?
Neurological research shows that patients who damage the limbic system part of
their brain, which is the oldest part, are incapable of making decisions.
Interestingly, their logic is fine.
Their language abilities are fine.
But it's their emotions that they have trouble accessing.
In other words, we need emotions to make decisions in our lives.
And how do emotions reveal themselves?
Through our heart, our bodies our breath.
That is why body wisdom is so critical for decision making.
I want to take you back to that ten year old version of me who just came out to his
family within six months, I developed OCD, a type of anxiety that felt really scary.
I would feel paralyzed in the face of a decision.
In this type of anxiety came full circle when I entered my 20s.
I was studying abroad in Paris, and I fell in love with the city.
It was my dream, my mission to work and live there someday.
After years of French tutoring and multiple phone screenings I found
myself on a flight to interview for a job in Paris.
I remember speaking for hours in French during the interview, it felt magical.
And then HR called [FOREIGN].
I got the job I felt victorious and
then suddenly unexpectedly, fell torn up in my body.
Because while I had been practicing French,
I'd also been rediscovering my childhood passion for technology.
I taught myself how to build mobile apps, and
I was about to launch my first app on the IOS App Store.
And I was afraid saying yes to Paris, would mean to turn my app launch, and
long term career goals.
I was at a fork in the road, but this time,
I didn't have a coin to help me make a decision.
And this lack of direction reminded me of being ten years old.
So at that moment, I started to listen to my body my lungs felt constricted and
narrow and tight my stomach felt twisted.
I was so cold I was shivering.
But should I listen to my body?
The logical part of my brain it made so much more sense.
This was my dream job.
What am I supposed to do?
It was at that moment that I had an epiphany.
I realized if I could listen to my body wisdom in this moment regret is
impossible.
Because if we trust our bodies, we trust ourselves and
if we trust ourselves, we're free.
When I was younger, my intuition came to be.
And in this moment, I realized my body could be at war.
To ease my anxiety around decision making.
So I said no to Paris.
I stayed in New York.
My app trended on the App Store.
And now I'm here at Stanford, where I absolutely want to be.
And I have made every decision since with my body and mind.
Now could I see a world where I'm not at Stanford,
I'm in Paris, sipping espresso and eating croissants?
Of course, trusting your body does not mean you don't get to
look back on paths not taken.
It simply means you trust your body knew what you needed at a point in time.
It just wasn't using words to tell you why.
Because to try and exercise together want everyone to close their eyes.
Picture in your mind a decision you have to make.
This decision could be need to make today tomorrow, maybe a year from now.
It could be small like what to eat for dinner?
Or maybe it's bigger.
A fork in the road that could change your life.
Now see yourself making that decision in your mind, go through with it.
Don't feel too committed to it, it's just an exercise.
Now notice what's around you in your mind, and feel your body,
could put your hand on your chest if you'd like.
Your lungs may feel airy and open.
Your stomach maybe feels really settled.
Your temperature may be slightly warm,
a little tingly soft means your body is aligned with this choice.
You may also feel other types of sensations in your body.
Your lungs may feel constricted and tighter,
your stomach may feel twisted, you may feel cold.
This doesn't have to mean your decision is wrong just may mean your body is trying to
tell you something.
And that may be something worth listening to.
Everyone can open their eyes now.
That is body wisdom.
Now this practice is a practice.
It's not easy to listen to your body.
It's something I practice every day but if you try it,
I think you'll be amazed what you'll find.
There's so much in this world that causes us all anxiety.
I hope by following this practice,
you have one more tool at your disposal, and one less thing to worry about.
But as with all decisions A choice to trust your body is yours, thank you.
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