Thanksgiving and leading with your gut

A tale about New York, travelling your way and why you should be grateful for what your gut’s telling you this Thanksgiving.

The 2 policemen looked at me like I was a bit nuts. “It’s like 20 blocks away” one of them repeated, raising an eyebrow. “You’re far quicker taking the subway.”

I smiled and nodded.

It was my first time in New York. I was one of those tourists that kept looking up.

I’m from Edinburgh, known for its gothic old town and Georgian new town, not skyscrapers.

I’d not expected to be as charmed as I was by New York.

On my first day I’d stopped and asked 2 policemen for directions to The Empire State Building and they were gobsmacked that I was going to walk there.

Yes, it would have taken less time to get there by subway. But I wouldn’t have seen New York unfold in front of me block by block. I’d have missed taking things at my own pace. And stopping to look at things. And starting to get my head around a place I’d seen on telly and in films for years and was now in front of me in real life.

🤨 Sometimes our own journeys raise an eyebrow or two from other people. From the outside looking in it can seem a bit odd.

😳 A little strange.

😱 Or really quite weird.

This Thanksgiving week you’ll read a lot about being thankful to others. And that’s important, of course.

But also thank your own wisdom.

Really knowing yourself means you make the decisions that are right for you.

You make your own path.

And whether that involves the subway or walking 20 blocks or whether it’s the first few steps of a journey that’s your own personal marathon over the next few years, creating your own path is powerful.

Trust your gut.

🙏 And be thankful it’s looking out for what’s right for you.