Is It Fear or Intuition? How to Tell the Difference.
When I listen to my gut, I never regret it. Intuition is a powerful thing and should be respected. But sometimes, when facing a big decision, it's hard to tell the difference between intuition and fear.
First of all, when I'm talking about fear, I'm not talking about the healthy "don't walk down that dark alley alone at night" kind of fear. That kind of fear is aligned with your intuition and needs to be listened to. I'm talking about the kind of fear that doesn't serve you—the fear that holds you back, keeps you playing small and gets in the way of you making decisions in your life and business that will move you forward.
Now, I personally believe that we are all put here on this planet to live the best, most fulfilling life we can. We are here to grow and learn and serve others. That belief is one of the reasons why I'm so passionate about helping photographers thrive in their businesses.
Being an artist is a gift. It's a calling. You are the only person on the planted with YOUR specific gift. No other person in the entire world can see or capture things the exact way that you do. As a photographer, you are called to share whatever it is you see and capture with the world.
In this episode, we dive into the differences between intuition and fear.
HIGHLIGHTS
The biggest difference is volume.
Intuition tends to be soft and quiet. It feels like a knowing in your body. People always say "listen to your gut", because we all recognize that bodied, centered, grounded feeling of true intuition.
Fear on the other hand tends to be loud, and for me, it's mostly in my head. It repeats itself constantly, like a nervous spinning.
The other big difference between fear and intuition is in the messaging.
Intuition is positive. Even when it's telling me not to do something, it's coming from a place of love. When my intuition is telling me not to do something, the message will be about the situation, not me.
Fear is negative. It points out all the things that won't work. It's not always nice; it's the voice that tells you that you're not good enough, you're not ready, you don't have what it takes, this won't work for you.
Fear is something that rears its ugly head all the time when you are in business for yourself. It tells you things like, "Marketing doesn't work for me", "I don't have time for this", and "Nobody reads what I write on my website, so what's the point?".
That voice, that's fear—it doesn't tell you the truth. My guess is that underneath the loud voice of fear, your intuition is telling you a different story.
It's saying something like, "Your business can work, you just need help with your marketing.", "This is the right path for you, and that's why we keep bringing it up.", and "What you do is special, so find a mentor to help you get it out into the world.".
Pay attention to the difference, especially around any resistance that you may have. Resistance is often FEAR masquerading as intuition. Living in fear is the quickest way to keep your business stuck.
I encourage you to get quiet when you can and practice listening to your intuition. When you start paying attention, you'll begin to hear the difference between its voice and fear.
If your intuition is telling you that this is the year to get your branding, marketing and business really to take off, I encourage you to sign up for my free training, "3 Marketing Mistakes Every Photographers Needs to Avoid". It walks you through the three most common marketing mistakes photographers make, how to avoid them and what to focus on instead to get the results you want.
