Intuition Or Baggage? Making Aligned Decisions That Lead To Fulfilling Outcomes

In life, there will come moments of weakness. And the way we react can be attributed to how our minds and bodies are programmed. Some of us withdraw, panic, or break down, while others can face the challenges head-on with confidence. We make decisions we regret because we thought we knew better, not realizing we were just reacting to the pressures of the moment. So how do we make sure that we make aligned decisions that lead to fulfilling outcomes? Yanet Borrego shares insights into how we can identify what drives our behaviors and the difference between baggage and intuition. She talks about how they affect the way we are motivated and how it affects our relationships with people. So tune in and find out how you can let go of the baggage that’s weighing you down and follow your intuition into a wiser and better you! 

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Intuition Or Baggage? Making Aligned Decisions That Lead To Fulfilling Outcomes

One thing every successful individual leader and entrepreneur has in common is a consistent morning routine. Having a simple easy to implement routine enables you to start your day with a sense of purpose, accomplishment, clarity and direction. For this reason, I have prepared for you a free guide with an easy-to-follow five-minute morning routine and a tracking template where you can document your progress day by day. I’ll be receiving messages from some of you who are telling me how this habit has transformed your days for the better. Download the five-minute morning routine so you can start your day on purpose.

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In this episode, I'm going to answer a question that I get often from my coaching clients and those who are not my clients but are deeply involved in the personal development journey. The question is, “When I'm making decisions or discerning between one option and another one, how do I know it feeds my gut telling me to do something or it feeds my baggage? Am I projecting this from the past or is this something that feels right for me? Is it intuition or is it baggage?” This is an important question to answer.

If you're reading this show, you're someone who is seeking to grow and evolve into a better, more authentic and aligned version of yourself. The more you are aligned with who you are, the more positive impact you can create within yourself and also with everyone else around you. To be in alignment and create impact, we need to make decisions that are congruent with our values and the version of all that we are pursuing, the ideal version of us. Whatever that is for you is different for every person.

Why knowing if it is intuition or baggage is so important because the more you understand these, the more you understand yourself. The more you understand yourself, the more you can align at the deepest level of the version of whom you want to be. The more you align with your goals and dreams, the more impact you can create outside of you. That is why it's so important to understand if the driver or motivation of your decisions is baggage or intuition.

This makes me think also of the unconscious bias training that we used to take when I was in corporate at all times. There are many biases and filters we have. Each one of us goes through our reality. My reality is only real for me. Your reality is only real for you. We all have filters, different perceptions and experiences. Based on our experiences, beliefs and values, we filter the outside world and then create meaning out of it. That's why it's so important. The more you align with what feels right for you, which is your intuition, the highest potential you can achieve in this world.

To be in alignment and create impact, we need to make decisions that are congruent with our values, what we are pursuing, and the ideal version of us.

Recognizing Your Baggage

Let's talk a little bit more about what is baggage versus what is intuition. We are going to go into the how-to of how you know if it is baggage or intuition. I'm going to illustrate it with a real-life example as always. When we talk about baggage, a lot of times, it is past negative experiences that we are projecting into our present or future. For example, if someone cheated on you in a romantic relationship, in every relationship that you go in, you are projecting this insecurity into that person. That is not intuition. That is baggage. You're insecure already. You haven't healed from that past relationship. You're taking that experience and how bad it was and projecting it into the present relationship and future relationships too if you don't take care of it.

A lot of times, it is reflected in our lives in the form of negative emotions and limiting beliefs. You know you have baggage whenever you're projecting your past experiences into your present and your future. You also know you have baggage whenever your response to a certain situation is out of proportion to what's happening. When you experience a level of intensity, it is hard to control. You feel your chest and everything within you lighting up. When you're triggered, that is baggage.

It feels heavy. It feels like something is taking over you. That thing is emotions and beliefs. It’s everything you have lived in the past that you are projecting into the present but in some way, your body already believes that it's happening even though it's not happening at all. Your body immediately believes that it is in the past and it's happening again.

Most of our subconscious programming is stored in our bodies. The body has become the master and the mind has become the servant. A lot of the personal development work is to start programming your body and mind to be in alignment and your mind to lead your body. That's why even if you're new to meditation and you're trying to meditate for five minutes, it feels so hard. That’s because your body is used to running the programming. Your body's telling you, “My back hurts. You're supposed to do something. There are one million things we haven't done.” That’s your body that wants to move.

Part of practicing being in control is your mind telling your body like a dog, “Stay there. We are going to sit here for five minutes. Everything is going to be all right.” If you focus on the present, you're all right already. It’s this practice of starting to master your body, which is your subconscious programming, many times. That's what baggage is.

Demystifying Intuition

I have an episode on intuition only. Intuition is this download that you get that moves you in a positive direction and a desire that you have. It feels right and light. The episode on demystifying intuition also explains how intuition is not necessarily this mystical woo-woo experience. It is related also to your past experiences but with a lens of wisdom like, “I've learned this without any emotional intensity. Let’s use this wisdom to move forward in a positive direction.”

Intuition is all about wisdom. Baggage is all about a negative intensity that makes you respond out of proportion to situations. It is reactive. Intuition is proactive. Baggage is very reactive. When you're making decisions out of baggage, you're usually trying to move away from something. Your mindset is usually fear-driven. You're operating out of scarcity and survival mode.

If you decide to stay in awareness within yourself, you're going to realize that quickly because it doesn't feel good and right. With baggage, you feel a lot of intensity and negativity. It's that fear and survival mode kicking in. It’s thinking that whatever happened in the past that was an undesired outcome is going to happen again. You're trying to react and figure things out but your mind is believing that something is happening that is not. You're projecting the past into the present and future. That is when you know that it's baggage. It feels heavy. It doesn't feel right.

Baggage is the past negative experiences we are projecting into our present or future.

Intuition, on the opposite end, feels like an inner knowing that you don't necessarily have an analytical explanation. You don't think about, “Since this happened in the past, it is going to happen again.” Intuition is something that moves you in a direction that is compelling and one that you desire. It feels positive and in alignment with yourself. It is also out of an abundance mindset, a mindset of possibilities and love. That's what intuition is. It’s knowing that something is right or not right but you don't have an explanation for it.

I don't want you to get confused with your subconscious programming running. If it's your subconscious programming, you're going to know because you're operating out of the past. Intuition operates out of the present and the future, not necessarily out of the past. If it operates out of the past, it’s because you're bringing a lesson or wisdom into the present. It’s not because there is negativity associated with it.

Take Time To Clear Your Mind

There are a lot of theories. Let me give you a real-life example. Honestly, many years ago, when I finished my Chemical Engineering degree, I realized that I was passionate about the mental and emotional aspects of the human brain. I wanted to commit to helping myself and others gain clarity in this path so they can operate at their highest potential.

I had started my first corporate job. After one year, I realized that I wasn't aligning with it. It wasn't something that I wanted to move towards. It didn't feel right. Since that one year for me wasn't that positive, I started projecting a lot of negativity into the present. I was thinking that things were not going to go right. I started projecting a lot of negativity into the future thinking, “If I stay here, I'm going to be unhappy forever. I don't have freedom and opportunities.” I had experienced things in the past so I was projecting into the future.

There was one day that I was working a night shift. Since I was a process engineer, I had to work a lot of hours. It was a crazy time when my body and my mind were under a lot of stress. Honestly, most of it is because I wasn't enjoying what I was doing at all. There was a day when my stress was high. I ended up having a panic attack, which I didn't know what a panic attack was until that moment. After the panic attack, I realized that I didn't want to be there anymore. I was like, “I'm going to quit. I'm done with these.” I was making the decision out of pain, fear and scarcity.

When that panic attack happened, I didn't think of the possibility that I could move to another position or make a shift to move into an organization within the corporation. I was so driven by the intensity of the moment and the fear of staying where I was that I decided I wanted to quit that job. Without a plan or a direction to move forward, I was operating out of baggage.

I went the next day into work after the panic attack and was like, “I'm quitting. I'm gone.” My supervisor was like, “Let's talk about it. There are options. You can stay. Let's find something that makes you happier or more fulfilled.” When you're making decisions out of baggage like the one I was making out of fear, usually, things don't work out in your favor as they didn't on me. I didn't have a plan, a vision or a compelling future that I was working toward. I was hitting myself against the wall. I realized when my supervisor told me at that moment that there were more possibilities even within the company.

I had a panic attack and we had that conversation. I ended up taking a two-month leave of absence because I was like, “If I'm not quitting, I need a break. I'm done with this environment and job.” I didn't know better. People are always doing the best they can with the resources they had. I was like, “I'm done. I need to take a break.”

Intuition is proactive. Baggage is very reactive.

When I came back from the break, I remember being so confident, grounded and hopeful that things were going to work out for me. Since I had released that baggage and had a blank canvas, I started realizing that there were a lot of possibilities within this corporation. Even though I wasn't familiar with all of the organizations and positions, I made a huge effort to start reaching out to different people and interviewing them.

An organization that I connected to was the supply chain. The supply chain was all about people, interacting with suppliers and negotiating. I connected to that. Fast forward, I ended up transitioning into a supply chain organization after six months. I did amazingly. I was suffering in the other position. I loved the supply chain, the environment, my job and what I was doing. I'm telling you all of these to illustrate that even in the worst moments of our lives, there is always a possibility that if we are operating out of baggage, we are not seeing. Baggage operates out of fear and scarcity. Sometimes, you need to let go of that baggage to see clearly what is in front of you.

One of the techniques that I've used to release my baggage and help my clients release theirs is called mental and emotional release. It’s one that I utilize in my one-on-one coaching. I also cover it in my digital course, the Discover Your Purpose Program. If this is something that interests you, you can schedule a free clarity call. Let's talk about it. I love helping people. Hopefully, I get to help you if this is something that resonates with you.

In 2021, I transitioned from my nine years in a corporate career. Several years ago, I didn't transition. I was experimenting and gaining clarity. I tried leaving corporate but at that moment, it wasn't the wisest idea. Why? It’s because I was operating out of fear. Thank God I ended up staying because I wasn't ready. More time passed and I continued gaining clarity and experimenting with what I loved. I started my psych coaching business. I built a stronger foundation.

My uncle that was so close to me was the one who introduced me to neuro-linguistic programming, meditation and everything that I know. He introduced me to these back in 2012. He passed away from cancer. To me, that was such a big shock. That made me realize we only have this life and the reality that we create. We don't know when our last day will be. This may sound sad but it is the reality. I want you to even start operating out of that mindset. I think about it all the time.

Fortunately, I'm in a place where sometimes, I say to myself, “If I die tomorrow or in one week, I'm going to be very happy that I was pushing the boundaries and doing something that I truly believe in.” My uncle passes away and I was like, “What is going on?” I was in shock for three weeks. I remember after that, I started to heal. I was walking with my husband. It was this download from this universal intelligence that communicated, “It is the time.” It felt so right and light.

I had established this foundation already in my side coaching business. I truly had found something that I was passionate about, which is coaching, teaching and speaking. I immediately knew out of love and abundance that transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurship in 2021 was the right decision for me. I also knew because the corporate job that I was in consulting was one that I liked and enjoyed. The people that I was working with were amazing. The mentorship and the opportunities that I was receiving, I'm grateful for all of those. I was happy where I was.

I didn’t make this decision because I hated my job or the people I was working with. It’s nothing like that. I made this decision because it felt right. I realized that we have only this life. Why not make bold decisions once you have the foundation? A few years back, I wasn't ready at all. Once you have that foundation, clarity and direction and you have been practicing, there is a moment where you got to take that leap of faith. You know that the moment has arrived because your intuition is telling you in a loving and healing way, “This is it.” That's what happened in 2021.

When you're making decisions out of baggage, things don't work out in your favor. 

If you see those two scenarios, they feel very different. One of them is a crisis. It felt intense. I felt a lot of fear and anger. I was like, “I'm done with this.” This one felt like, “I'm moving from a great opportunity to one that is even greater.” It felt light and aligned with a lot of abundance. That’s how you know when it’s baggage and when it's intuition.

I hope this episode helped you so much because differentiating between these two takes practice. I'm not going to lie. It takes awareness but differentiating between these two is going to be life-changing. How you know is starting to raise awareness of your thoughts and beliefs. Are you transporting yourself into a path or are you in the present making those decisions that feel right? I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please share with a friend or a family member. Let's continue to spread the love of self-empowerment and personal development. Thank you so much for reading and your support. I'll see you next time. Bye.

 Important Links

• Five-Minute Morning Routine
• Episode – Demystifying Intuition: Own the Superpower of Trusting Your Gut – Past Episode
• Discover Your Purpose Program
• https://Calendly.com/YanetBCoaching/Clarity-Call
• Clarity Booster - 3 Questions Framework
• YBCoaching.com
• https://www.Facebook.com/YanetBCoaching
• https://www.Instagram.com/YanetBCoaching/
• https://www.LinkedIn.com/company/Yanet-Borrego-Coaching/?viewAsMember=true
• https://www.YouTube.com/channel/UCqxL829o0Vk-QdY12F-GgMw