Do You Trust Yourself?
Let’s be real. How many times have you second-guessed yourself? You spend hours analyzing a decision, overthinking every possible outcome, consulting Google like it’s your personal guru, and—after all that—you’re still stuck in indecision.
It’s not just you. Trusting yourself, especially when it comes to balancing logic (the mind) and intuition (the heart), is one of the biggest challenges we face.
The good news? Self-trust is a skill you can develop.
When you learn to integrate both your analytical mind and intuitive heart, you create a powerful decision-making system that is uniquely YOURS. This post will help you understand how to build trust in your own judgment, navigate inner conflicts, and finally stop outsourcing your confidence to external validation.
Why Self-Trust Matters More Than You Think
Self-trust isn’t about being right all the time. It’s about believing in your ability to handle whatever happens next. It’s the difference between feeling paralyzed by uncertainty and moving forward with confidence.
Here’s why trusting yourself is a game-changer:
- You make decisions faster. No more overanalyzing every little detail.
- You stop people-pleasing. When you trust yourself, you don’t need everyone else’s approval.
- You handle setbacks better. Trusting yourself means you see mistakes as part of growth, not as personal failures.
- You live authentically. Decisions become easier when they align with who you truly are.
Head vs. Heart: The Ultimate Tug-of-War
Self-trust often falters because our mind and heart seem to be at odds. The logical mind is obsessed with facts, data, and worst-case scenarios. The intuitive heart leans into feelings, energy, and gut instincts.
Here’s how the internal dialogue usually plays out:
- Your Heart: “I really want to start my own business.”
- Your Mind: “But what if you fail? What if you lose money? What if nobody buys what you’re selling?”
- Your Heart: “But I feel excited about this. I know it’s right for me.”
- Your Mind: “Yeah, but feelings don’t pay the bills.”
Sound familiar?
This internal war between your head and heart creates decision paralysis. You bounce between logic and intuition, but instead of using them together, you let them cancel each other out.
The secret? It’s not about choosing between head and heart. It’s about ALIGNING them.
How to Build Trust in Your Own Decisions
1. Clarify Your Core Values
Your values act as a built-in decision filter. When you know what truly matters, you can make choices with confidence.
How to identify your values:
- Think of a time when you felt completely in alignment—what values were present?
- What qualities do you admire in others? These often reflect your own core values.
- Write down your top five values and keep them visible. When making a decision, ask: Does this align with my values?
2. Strengthen Your Intuitive Muscle
Your intuition is a powerful decision-making tool, but if you don’t use it, it weakens. Just like a muscle, intuition gets stronger with practice.
Ways to sharpen intuition:
- Body Check: Before making a decision, pause and notice how your body feels. Lightness = alignment. Tightness = resistance.
- Journaling: Write down intuitive nudges you’ve had in the past—when you followed them and when you ignored them. Look for patterns.
- Micro-Decisions: Start trusting your intuition with small choices (like what to eat or which book to read). Build confidence gradually.
3. Balance Logic with Emotion
Your brain is a powerful analytical tool—don’t ignore it! The trick is to use logic and intuition as teammates, not rivals.
The “Head-Heart-Action” Framework:
- Head: What are the facts? What’s the logical side of this decision?
- Heart: What’s your gut feeling? What emotions arise when you think about this choice?
- Action: What’s the next small step that honors both logic and intuition?
4. Reframe Fear of Mistakes
A huge block to self-trust is the fear of making the wrong choice. But here’s the truth: mistakes are just data.
Instead of thinking: “What if I make the wrong choice?”
Reframe it as:
“What can I learn from this choice, no matter the outcome?”
Self-trust isn’t built by making perfect decisions—it’s built by making bold ones and learning from them.
5. Stop Seeking External Validation
We live in a world where it’s way too easy to crowdsource our decisions. Whether it’s asking friends, Googling endlessly, or scrolling for advice, too much external input weakens self-trust.
Challenge: For the next 7 days, make decisions without asking for outside opinions. Even small ones. This will train your brain to trust its own judgment.
6. Create a “Self-Trust Bank”
Confidence grows when you have proof that you can trust yourself. Start collecting that proof.
The Self-Trust Bank Exercise:
- At the end of each day, write down one decision you made that felt right.
- It could be as small as saying no to something that didn’t feel aligned.
- Over time, this practice rewires your brain to recognize your own wisdom.
7. Practice Radical Self-Compassion
Self-trust doesn’t mean you never doubt yourself. It means that when doubt shows up, you don’t beat yourself up for it.
Self-compassion = giving yourself grace to be human.
When self-doubt creeps in, tell yourself: “I am doing the best I can with the knowledge I have. Every decision is part of my learning process.”
Real-Life Example: Trusting Yourself in a Career Change
Let’s say you’re considering a career shift, but fear is holding you back.
- Head: You analyze the job market, financial risks, and career growth potential.
- Heart: You feel an undeniable pull toward the new opportunity, even if it’s uncertain.
- Action: Instead of an all-or-nothing leap, you take a small aligned action—maybe it’s a side project, a networking call, or a part-time transition.
Outcome: You move forward in a way that honors both logic and intuition. THAT’S self-trust in action.
The Bottom Line: Trusting Yourself is a Daily Practice
Trusting yourself is not a one-time event. It’s a muscle you build every single day.
Start now: What’s one decision you’ve been overthinking?
Use the Head-Heart-Action method to make a choice and move forward.
You already have everything you need inside of you. The more you trust yourself, the more you’ll step into your power—and that’s where the magic happens. 🚀
