The Only Decision-Making Tool You Will Ever Need

Each point hit home as the truth. I can remember when I left my last corporate position and was in the midst of interviewing for senior level positions. Like an alarm in my head through round after round of interviews I knew the position was not right for me but I kept going…. until the final round. I finally was willing to listen to my heart and called the hiring manager to tell him I was withdrawing from further consideration. Immediately, a weight lifted from my heart.

We DO know what do to the real challenge is to listen, be brave and do it.

Thanks, Lolly!

Good post as always Lolly.

The first step in following our heart is knowing it. We all get drawn into things that do not resonate with us and we feel uncomfortable or disconnected from ourselves, from our hearts.

The answer is often to slow things down and examine what we are feeling deep inside. Letting go of the should-haves that belong to other people can be a scary thing, but it will lift a great burden from our hearts.

When we can learn to listen to and heed that deep resonance of when things are right with our hearts, we can begin to heal and become whole and real and content.

Beautiful post Lolly. You hit the point home well. Our intuition always guides only if chose to listen to it always. I know some of my tough decisions have been possible because I went with my institution or my inner voice or heart.

Thank you for a lovely reminder Lolly

Lalita

We need to believe that what we are feeling is truly the best direction for our decisions. And that is all about TRUST. If we could just trust our inner compass to guide us, we would make wiser and more satisfying choices.

And we also need to put fear on a back burner. I know that when I have to deal with a change, the FEAR factor sometimes sabotaging me. Just saying out loud that I can overcome my concerns, helps to propel me forward to make a decision.

Thanks Lolly for a great post!

Hi Lolly,

This post reminded me of some personnel layoffs I faced years ago. It was a very difficult decision and my head was telling me one thing and my heart was saying another. It was truly an example where doing the right thing was not the same thing as doing what was right.

Your post is a wonderful reminder to us all that we need to be aware of our inner compass

One of the best examples I can remember of following my heart was the decision to get married! My head simply did not want to…and when I “thought” it through I came up with all sorts of reasons not to get married: my career, I wanted to wait until I was in my mid-30’s, not the man of my dreams, etc.

But once I got into silence and drilled down to the core of my heart, I found peace. I was not madly in love with him the way it’s portrayed in movies and books. I had LOTS of doubts, my I followed that still, small voice of my heart and we just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary!

Thank you for another important post, Lolly. Have a great week!

So love that you wrote that the wisdom of your heart will lead you to innovation, creativity, originality, artistry, and resourcefulness.

So true. All things that will place you above the noise of your niche and make you feel great for unleashing your passion on the world. That’s leadership!

I have to do my best everyday to trust my heart, my gut. A tweet, a post, a picture shared with the world. If I go inward, I know exactly what my audience needs and how to best serve my clients. It’s almost automatic.

By knowing your heart, may it lead to bold “lighting fast” decision making. Choices that command both delight and success.

Wes

Now we’re talking. Great post and some great responses. More power to LaRae for that chunk of courage, WOW! And congratulations.

Yes the beautiful heart has to be one of the best built machines. It runs so smoothly that you have to really become an expert to be able to tell when it is not quite running on all cylinders.

It is too easy to convince ourselves that all is running smoothly as it just keeps ticking. When in reality all is not always as it should be. When we spend the time to really get to know our heart (our inner self), then we as a master mechanic can start to tell that all is not quite right. We can feel it, hear it, sense it. Whether faith based, spiritually or otherwise, there is a path for all to find.

But to do this we must be willing to let go, to risk that we may loose what we thought was important at that moment. Even feel that we may loose control.

We must be confident in our natural ability to float in the water, to let go of the edge. Yes, It can be scary, it can put doubt into even the strongest mind. But what can be discovered in that moment of realization is simply awe inspiring.

Does it solve everything, make hurt and suffering go away, will you always lead in the right direction, make the right decision, I don’t know. But I think that is the point. You will never know until you let go.

To lead with the heart requires you (as you say), let go. As you let go you actually open a door to the universe within. A place that many of us barely know. This place allows innovation to float, and passion to give it wings. What is within is raw untapped energy and passion, and like riding a wild horse it can be exhilarating and scary. No reins to steer or stop with, just pure unbridled power.

Riding that horse takes practice, courage, and ultimately complete trust. Get that far and then your ride will grow wings.

I think that Mihaly Csikszentmihaly touched on this in his description of Flow. And I believe we can all experience that wonderful moment when if we can let go with total trust. When you get there, I believe that and decision is made before you know you had to make a decision. You become one with the universe within.

In this past year I have been there a few times, as I have lost all the family I grew up with, I found that horse and rode it, hands in the air and with total abandon at first, but then slowly, with trust I let go, and I flew.

We all lead everyday. We lead our lives, we make decisions every moment of the day and perhaps because of society, we sometimes struggle to feel OK about opening that door. Great leaders that have been, I believe, opened that door and led from within (whether they knew it as that or not), they led from the heart, and this is why they are still remembered today.

It is our legacy to those that follow us. To be the best you, you can be. Trust, sit gently, let go and leadfromwithin.

Looking forward to the chat tonight. Thanks for the inspiring post.

Your Friend,
Simon

yes indeed Lolly…

Our inner guidance system is all here…
in its fullness…right now.

I’ve found that…

Muscle testing…dowsing and other forms
of kinesiology work like training wheels
to gain complete confidence in our…

Inner Guidance System.

thank you for the post!
aloha…

Fantastic article Lolly. Your point about, “confusion sometimes results when we don’t want to agree with the truth” really struck me.

I believe this is the heart of making great decisions – trusting the truth – and often that comes to us as a feeling. I think that is why we try not to trust it – yet, those feelings, which are coming from the heart and therefore ARE truth…is what we need to make the right decision for us in the moment. So important for all of us to understand this.

Powerful truth, Lolly – thank you!!

Lolly:
I really require to make sure this sinks in – and I’ve got to make sure in sinks in from my own heart –
I am in a period of reflection and to some extent #withdrawal from the interactions, requiring something, I know not exactly what, but this post definitively speaks directly as an echo to my own best sentiments at this moment.
Thank you.
Wayne

When I was still in High School, I saw a bumper sticker that said,”Sailors have more fun!” I made a career decision on that so I could have more fun. Well, they didn’t say more fun than what, so it was truthful advertising. It was more fun than a dental appointment. If I hadn’t followed my heart on that though, I would not have met my wife, had my kids, learned the skills I have, and seen the world the way I did, so I guess my heart was right that night. I usually try to do both, follow my heart and have fun!
Lead on,
Pat

Hi Lolly,
A wonderful and very timely post for me. A major project I’ve been part of for several years is coming to a close and moving from design to implementation soon, and I’m simply not excited about it. Everyone else on the project is.

I keep telling myself several times a day, “You really ought to be excited, you really ought to be excited, you really ought to be excited.” And I’m not. This self-talk has been going on for several months.

Now I can tell my head to back off and leave my heart alone… Thanks for this post, Lolly!

Thank you for a wonderful post. “Leading from Within” is a perfect summary of these points.

Very meaningful words Lolly….”don’t believe everything you think!” How often I have “thought” my way out of my heart’s decision. As I transition to a new decade, thanks for the nudge to let my heart decide to choose better thoughts.

Lolly: This is very enlightening and just the reminder I need to trust myself and what I’m trying to accomplish in my business? Thank you!

I Reed your all blog