When Everything Looks Right but Feels Wrong
Learning to Trust Your Gut
"Your hands must be empty before they can receive something new."
Ever noticed how some opportunities look absolutely perfect on paper but feel completely wrong in your gut?
Saying No to the "Perfect" Career Move
I was absolutely qualified for the Coordinator of Field Experience position in the School of Education. My colleagues and students respected my work, my track record spoke for itself, and honestly, I admired the other candidates I'd be up against. So when the dean called to schedule my interview, it should have been a celebratory moment. Instead, I heard myself saying, "I'm taking my hat out of the ring."
The dean paused. "Are you sure? You'd be excellent in this role." She was right. I would have been excellent. That was precisely the problem. My heart wasn't in it, and while I knew something else was calling me, I had no idea what… I just knew this position—however prestigious, however logical—wouldn't fill me. I wanted to do something that used my skills as mentor, teacher, and coach, but in a way that felt more aligned with my true gifts than just taking the next logical administrative step at the college.
Six months later, I entered a professional coach certification program and never looked back.
What felt like career self-sabotage was actually my intuition giving me permission to pivot toward something better aligned with who I was becoming.
Your Permission to Pivot
Sometimes the most powerful choice isn't accepting what's offered—it's giving yourself permission to walk away from what doesn't fit:
• The promotion that would advance your career but drain your soul • The relationship that looks good on paper but feels flat in reality
• The opportunity everyone says you "should" take but that leaves you cold
When we honor our inner knowing over external expectations, we create space for paths we couldn't have imagined.
The Power of Internal Redirection
This is what "Beyond the Reframe" is all about—trusting that internal compass that knows things your logical mind hasn't figured out yet. It's not about rejecting good things; it's about making space for great things.
When we give ourselves permission to pivot, we're not being flighty or ungrateful. We're choosing alignment over achievement, soul-fit over resume-fit.
The Science Behind Following Your Gut
Research in neuroscience shows that our "gut feelings" often process information faster than our conscious minds. That uneasy feeling about a "perfect" opportunity might be your brain recognizing misalignment before you can articulate why.
Studies also reveal that people who make decisions aligned with their values report higher life satisfaction, even when those decisions initially seem less advantageous on paper.
When you trust your inner wisdom, you're not being irrational—you're accessing a deeper intelligence.
Practical Tools for Permission-Based Pivoting
The Soul-Resume Alignment Check: Ask yourself: "Does this opportunity energize me or drain me when I imagine doing it daily?"
The 6-Month Test If you took this path, would you be excited to tell people about your work in six months, or would you be counting down days?
The Energy Audit Notice your body's response when discussing the opportunity. Excitement? Heaviness? Your body knows before your brain catches up.
Permission Slips for Pivoting
✨"I give myself permission to outgrow opportunities that no longer fit."
✨"I give myself permission to disappoint others to honor myself."
✨"I give myself permission to trust my gut over my resume."
When Fear Masquerades as Wisdom
Sometimes we convince ourselves to take the "sensible" path when we're actually just afraid of the unknown. But there's a difference between wisdom and fear:
Wisdom says: "This doesn't align with who I'm becoming."
Fear says: "I better take this because nothing better will come along."
Learning to distinguish between the two is everything.
The Question That Changes Everything
What if the opportunities you walk away from create space for paths you never could have imagined?
What if giving yourself permission to pivot isn't about rejecting good things, but about making room for great things?
What if trusting your inner wisdom is the most practical thing you can do?
Next time you're facing a decision where everything looks right but feels wrong, remember: sometimes the most successful move is the one that honors your soul over your resume. The most meaningful paths are rarely straight lines,
Celebrating your courage to honor your inner knowing,
✨ Andrea
The Global Authority on Cognitive Reframing
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