How to Trust Your Gut
For anyone who has felt something was off, talked themselves out of it and regretted it later.
To trust your gut, first ask where the feeling is coming from. Gut instinct built on real experience is worth listening to, especially when you have done something many times and got feedback on the results. Fear, social pressure and old stories can feel the same way but are less reliable. Pause, name the feeling, check one or two facts and then decide, instead of letting either the feeling or the crowd decide for you.
In high school, on a crowded Memorial Day weekend at a lake near our town in Nebraska, a friend’s uncle offered to take us tubing. I hesitated. The lake felt chaotic.
My buddy laughed and said, “Come on, it’s tubing. You’re not going to fall off.”
The truth is, I didn’t want to be the only one saying no. So, I climbed onto the tube and gave the thumbs up.
A jet ski was coming straight at me. They rushed me to the hospital, and eventually, I found out I had fractured a vertebra in my back.
Not every hesitation is a warning, and not every warning is right. Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Gary Klein concluded that intuition is most trustworthy when the situation follows regular patterns and the person has had plenty of practice with clear feedback, like an experienced nurse or firefighter. Without that experience, a strong feeling can still be wrong.
A hesitation is information. Ask what it is telling you before you overrule it.
Five steps to trust your gut wisely
Pause and name the feeling
Is it unease, excitement, dread or doubt? Naming it slows things down enough for you to decide instead of react.
Ask whether it is instinct or fear
Instinct usually points at something specific: “this deal feels rushed,” “this lake is too crowded.” Fear is vaguer and usually about you: “what if I look stupid,” “what if they say no.”
Check your experience
Your gut is more reliable in areas where you have done the work many times and seen the results. In new territory, treat it as a hypothesis, not a verdict.
Watch for social pressure
Ask yourself, “Would I still do this if no one were watching?” Going along so you are not the only one saying no is not a decision. It is a default.
Gather one or two facts, then decide
Look for the one piece of information that would change your mind. Then make the call, and review later how your instinct did so it gets sharper next time.
The truth is, I didn’t want to be
the only one saying no.
Gut feeling vs anxiety: how to tell the difference
A gut feeling tends to be calm, quick and specific, and it often stays the same when you sleep on it. Anxiety tends to be loud, repetitive and focused on what could go wrong for you, and it usually grows the more you think about it. If you have spent days spinning on the same question, that is more likely overthinking than intuition.
Related reading: How to Make a Big Decision When You Are Scared, How to Stop Caring What People Think and Is Self-Doubt Ever a Good Thing?.
Common questions
Should I always trust my gut?
No. Gut feelings are most reliable in areas where you have a lot of experience and feedback. In unfamiliar situations, use your instinct as a signal to look more closely, not as the final answer.
How do I know if it is my gut or my anxiety?
Gut feelings are usually calm, specific and steady over time. Anxiety is usually loud, repetitive and focused on what could go wrong for you, and it grows the more you dwell on it.
Is gut instinct backed by science?
Research by Daniel Kahneman and Gary Klein found that expert intuition can be accurate when people have extensive practice in predictable environments with clear feedback.
How can I get better at trusting myself?
Make small decisions quickly, keep track of how your instincts turned out and keep promises to yourself. Self-trust grows from evidence.
Pause, name the feeling and ask whether it is instinct or fear. Trust it more where you have experience, and never let the crowd decide for you.
You Are Capable
of More.
Ten principles for becoming the person you know you are capable of being, built from real stories of people who doubted themselves and did it anyway. Winner of the How-To category at the 2026 Paris Book Festival.
When I’ve got something worth sending.
Just a story or an idea I picked up that I think will help you.
Sometimes that’s twice in a month. Sometimes it’s not for a while.