Your Body as a Decision-Making Power Tool

By Jalene Case 

Plugging into our bodies’ way of communicating is like using a decision-making power tool. It quickly drills to the core. Whether we’re struggling to make tiny, seemingly inconsequential choices or gigantic, clearly life-changing decisions, our bodies know the answer first.

It’s easy to rush through life without taking time to notice our physical sensations. In fact we often try to actively ignore our bodies by not listening to their plea for sleep, urge to move, or hunger for good food. Feel familiar?

That denial of our bodies’ voice also shows up in our decision-making process. For example, have you ever made a list of pros and cons to help you make a choice and, more often than not, ended up in analysis-paralysis? Did you feel that even though there were more pros on the list, you wanted to make the opposite choice? Interpreting what our bodies are trying to tell us is more than a gut-feeling-style approach.

Health expert Dr. Christiane Northrup sums it up well, “Our inner guidance comes to us through our feelings and body wisdom first ⁠— not through intellectual understanding.”  

Here are some ways to practice connecting with your body’s wisdom as a tool in the decision-making process.

Feeling Yes and No

Think back to a time when you made a memorable decision. The instant you chose, did you feel something in your body, such as a cold clenching in your gut or a flood of warm relief in your chest? Paying attention to your body grounds you, brings you into the present, and is a pathway for listening to your inner wisdom.

Read through these steps and then close your eyes and go through the process:

• Ground your feet firmly on the floor and take a deep breath into your belly. Let the rest of the world drift away. Breathe naturally for a few breaths and feel your body’s sensations. Where do you feel tension, pain, tingles, or warmth? Simply notice. You don’t need to do anything right now. Relax. Bring all your energy to this moment.

• Bring a question into your mind and feel the answer in your body. For example, you may be deciding whether to accept a job.

• Imagine what your life would look and feel like if you said yes to the job. Include every detail you can imagine with your senses. Imagine what you’re wearing, the location of the job, the work you’ll be doing, the people you’ll be around, the scent of the place, the taste, the colors. Imagine yourself in the world you created by saying yes to this decision.

• Notice what you feel in your body. Where do you feel it? Is there tension? A warmth? A tingle? A glow? A knot? Does it feel like a yes or a no?

• Next, imagine saying no to the job and go through the same process. After feeling the yes and the no in your body, which choice feels right for you at this moment?

Flip to Choose

In a similar vein, a co-worker, Mindy, taught me a different twist on feeling your way to a decision. Think about the choice you’re facing and then flip a coin. Imagine that heads means yes and tails means no. Look at the result and immediately notice what you wish the coin had revealed. Therein lies your heart’s true desire for the answer.

Emotional Vocabulary

“How do you feel?” can be a simple and yet, vexing question. It’s easy to respond with good, bad, mad, happy, sad, and even, “I don’t know.” Add to that our common business culture of not revealing feelings. Naming our emotions becomes tricky! However, connecting more specifically with how we’re feeling can help us see the nuances of a decision more clearly.

Dr. Brené Brown is in the process of researching emotional literacy. I imagine this will help us recognize our feelings more precisely by expanding the words we use to describe them. For example, describing how we feel as overwhelmed instead of simply tired or worried instead of mad. The words we use can often change the context of the situation and, as a result our actions.

Write to Feel

Bring a particular situation to mind. Start with the prompt of, “I feel…” and then write for five minutes without stopping. You might include the physical location of sensations in your body, and a description or metaphor that illustrates how it feels. Often the process of writing will bring clarity to the words swirling around in your mind and the feelings emanating from your body.

Mindfully Feel

This is my favorite quick connection to my body’s voice. Go to a private place in which you’ll be comfortable closing your eyes for a minute.

• Close your eyes. Put your hand on your heart. Take a deep breath.

• Notice the feeling of your hand on your body, and your feet on the ground or your bottom on the seat.

• Bring a situation to mind, perhaps a pending decision. Internally ask yourself, “How am I feeling?” Immediately notice the physical sensations that come. People hear their body in different ways so simply notice what happens for you. There is no right or wrong way to listen to your body. How do you interpret what you hear?

Heeding our bodies’ wisdom takes practice, like any skill we want to improve. Choose one of the methods above (or create your own!) and practice listening to what your body has to share about your next decision.

I would love to hear what works for you. Please send me a note at Jalene@JaleneCase.com.

How to Create an Environment that Supports You

By Jalene Case 

The environment we build for ourselves—both externally and internally—influences how we show up and engage in our lives. Look around you. As you take in your surroundings, how do you feel? That feeling will follow you into whatever you’re doing next.

From 2015 to 2017, my husband and I traveled on our motorcycles, mostly in Latin America. My ability to control the surroundings changed dramatically and yet, the external world still influenced how I felt inside. For example, when we stayed in a place that felt good to me, I was inspired to write a blog post or make a video call to friends at home. When I found a private place to write in my journal, I could process the myriad of travel experiences.

Now I have more control over my surroundings. I decide how I want those spaces to look externally so they rev up my internal desires, goals, and visions. 

So how do your create your own supportive environment? Here’s an outline and some questions to consider: 

External Environment

Workspace

What does your dream workspace look like? Is it starkly minimalistic or wildly chaotic? Whichever way you choose, use an organization system that fits your style to increase productivity and decrease frustration. Give yourself permission to design the best space for you.

Storage Spaces (computers, bags, vehicles, etc.)

We can easily fall into the trap of storing too much “just in case” we need it and end up lugging around or being surrounded by a lot of unneeded clutter. What would serve you best to have nearby? How can you access it quicker? What can you let go? 

People

The people we surround ourselves with establish our “norm.” In other words, if most the people you hang out with don’t exercise, you probably won’t exercise either. If most the people surrounding you are always learning, you most likely will also. 

Malcolm Gladwell says, “The values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.” 

Places

Where do you spend time outside your work and home? Are those places supporting you? For example, trying to eat healthy and yet going to fast food places is incongruent. Trying to meet people from the business community and joining your local Chamber of Commerce is supportive.

Internal Environment

Emotional

Our emotions drive us even though we’re usually not aware of it. Whether we rank high on the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) scale or we’re a bit out of touch with our emotions, we can all benefit by improving in this area. 

The foundation of EQ is self-awareness. To grow that skill, try this:

• Ask yourself three times a day, “How am I feeling?” Set an alarm on your phone and when it goes off, internally ask yourself the question and answer with a word that best describes your feeling. This will grow your self-awareness and your vocabulary for describing emotions.

Physical

How does your body feel? Take a scan of your body and consider what you might do to help it feel better.

I had a big ah-ha when my husband and I were out traveling on our motorcycles. I knew it was important to sit-up straight when I was riding but I wasn’t doing it. As a result, I had to contend with an injury for several months. The ah-ha was that in order to sit-up straight, I had to strengthen my stomach muscles. That meant I had to exercise. The same is true for standing up straight and feeling energetic on a regular basis. In order to do those things, we need to move our bodies. 

Mindfulness: Combining Our External and Internal Environments

Mindfulness is defined as, “a technique in which one focuses one’s full attention only on the present, experiencing thoughts, feelings, and sensations but not judging them.” For me, this powerful combination of internal and external environments brings feelings of peace, calm, and focus. 

Try it yourself: for 10 seconds, notice the feeling of your feet connecting with the ground or your bottom connecting with the seat. Simply noticing connects our mind to our body. What do you notice? How do you feel? How can you support yourself in this moment?

We have the power to create an internal and external environment that supports us in being who we want to be and doing what matters most to us. Take a look around you. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, “What is one thing I could change to make my environment more supportive?”