Far too often we decide to digress or shrink in the face of decision-making opportunities. All decisions are opportunities and should be looked on as such. An opportunity to grow, to learn, to fail, and learn some more. Seize these opportunities to take control of decisions that directly affect your life.

For whatever reason, there are those of us that choose to stand aside. Waiting to see how things will play out. Keeping our mouths shut. Perhaps it is because we don’t want to look like we don’t know what’s going on. Maybe we are unsure or don’t want to “rock the boat” and be seen as disagreeable. Regardless of the reason, please do your best to listen to your intuition.

Listen carefully and know that you have the information you need to make the best decision you can at the time.

Developing confidence in our true inner self is not easy. However, the only way to develop it is to exercise our decision-making abilities. When we avoid making a decision, we are only deflecting ownership of our lives. By relinquishing the power of choice, we exonerate ourselves from the direction our lives are heading. We choose to not have a say in how our story will be written. Do we not trust in ourselves. Do we think that we cannot instigate change? There have been times I have found myself thinking these thoughts. The only way forward for me was to make a choice. A small decision here, another decision there. It all moves us forward to the next decision. Like Oprah Winfrey said, “What’s make next play?”

It is important to remember, we all have an inner truth. An intrinsic knowing that guide us. The gut feeling that we let us know what we need and what we don’t. The internal compass that guides us when a blanket of uncertainty covers the light that guides our way. Sometimes we listen. Sometimes we don’t. Not choosing is a choice. You chose to stop engaging in your life.

We are all authors of our own stories. The chapters are sometimes filled with action and adventure. There is heartache and moments of desperation. Other moments are filled with enlightenment (my personal fave) and personal growth. No matter how our story is unfolding, we have the power become an active author in our storyline.

There are times in which I forget to listen to my intuition and more often than not, I regret it. I believe it all stems from self-doubt. What will others think? Time and time again it is the internal dialogue that surfaces. Remember, this voice does not serve us. I am working on my negative internal dialogue and listening more to my positive internal voice.

It’s not easy to be unapologetic about our decisions, especially ones that may be perceived as selfish. Our decisions can put us in a position of vulnerability. Ripe for judgment. Let’s face it, there are people out there that take pleasure in judging others’ decisions as a way to mask their vulnerability and inability to make decisions. I refer to these folks as “Life’s Armchair Quarterbacks.” They seem to revel in pointing out what they deem as the mistakes others have made. Content to sit on the sidelines, showing up only to tell you the decisions you are making are wrong. How we will fail. Why we should not even bother. Their opinions have the ability to cast a long-reaching shadow over our dreams. Remember, the dark cloud exists in them, not you.

In these moments of self-doubt, remind yourself they are projecting their fears and doubts and that you have the inner strength to remain true to your path. We all have the wherewithal to sail through the roughest seas, while others remain rudderless.

So, I ask you, do you trust your intuition? If you do, why? If you don’t, why not? Intuition is the marriage of knowledge, experience, and gut feeling. Listen and act accordingly.