-Trust your gut

-Don't think twice about it

-Your gut is never wrong

-Go with your instincts

-Don't second guess yourself

We're programmed from birth to believe that second guessing ourselves is stupid and unnecessary, and that we're weak if we do.

But it is okay to second guess yourself from time to time. We are imperfect humans. Not one single being in this world has the capability to go through life making flawless decisions with zero consequences. So naturally-wouldn't the obvious answer be to maybe ask yourself again-"Hmm, am I sure this is what I want?"

--"Oh, yes...I see what you're saying-BUT YOU NEED TO TRUST YOURSELF!"

Mhm. I get that. I respect that. I'm all for trusting yourself, however, I can name more impulsive decisions I've made in my life than I can decisions that I thought long and hard about-then long and hard again.

Not only is it frowned upon to second guess your decisions, but it's also frowned upon to later regret them.

So let's break this down into simple terms:

You not only have to trust your gut the first time around, but if it turns out to be wrong-you can't regret it!

Seems pretty healthy, right?

I'm so tired of having to wonder what I should/shouldn't be contemplating more. "Should I move to a brand new house?"

-Welllll, I don't know! Just trust your gut!

I have to trust the same gut that told me:

1.) Drinking two bottles of wine in one day is a good idea!

2.) My 9th grade boyfriend did NOT cheat on me-because who swears on their mom's life and lies about it?!

3.) 5 big dogs in one smaller house is a grand idea!

My point being:

1.) 2 bottles of wine in one day will have you throwing up the entire next one.

2.) The girl's name my ex cheated on me with rhymes with Jizz.

3.) Dog hair makes up over 90 percent of my wardrobe!

IN OTHER WARDS:

Second guessing yourself should be freaking encouraged!

We should be screaming from the rooftops-"No sis! Do not text him for a third time!"

and,

"Giving him a sixth chance probably isn't one of the most fantastic ideas you've had so far..."

Maybe giving ourselves the "OK" to think twice would lead to less regrets the next day, and a gut you rely on less to make really big decisions.

They say second guessing yourself means not trusting yourself, but if there are decisions you wish you wouldn't have decided on in the first place-aren't you already setting yourself up for not trusting your gut the next time around?

We. Are. Not. Bad. People. For. Thinking. Twice. About. Our. Choices.

Especially if we're concerned about how it'll effect our physical and mental health in the long run.

I read an article once about how in order to stop second guessing ourselves, we had to get comfortable with making mistakes. Essentially meaning: don't think twice about a decision, just make one and be okay with the consequences after.

Instead of:

Thinking about your decision.

Then thinking about it again.

Then allowing the course of your decision to play out.

And Finally appreciating what happened because you allowed yourself to give it:

1.) Time

2.) Energy

3.) Consideration

You did not:

-Rush because people made you feel like you had to

-Go with your immediate reaction because people made you feel you should

-Regret not giving yourself the time to consider what YOU need/want.

We deserve to be easy on ourselves, and how we aren't doing that is by holding ourselves to the flawed idea that our GUT never makes a wrong decision, and thinking about something more than once is bad.

Because it does, and it's not.

There you go.

Now go ahead and reread that-think about it as many times as you need, and screw your gut.