Listen to Your Instincts

There’s something missing.

That was the apprehension I couldn’t shake this morning while making my post-workout smoothie.

In the blender were the usual suspects: almond milk, Greek yogurt, blueberries, spinach.

(I know, it sounds disgusting. But this is a classic case of the sum being greater than its parts.)

After dropping a scoop of almond butter into the mix, I went to put the spoon away. But before I opened the drawer, something stopped me.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the utensil, convinced its job wasn’t finished.

What I was experiencing was more sensation than thought, a feeling that didn’t just flash through my brain but filtered throughout my body.

Something wasn’t right.

I scanned the ingredients before me, and everything seemed to be accounted for. My hesitation must be a product of my early morning haze, I figured.

So I brushed it off and pressed the button to activate the blender.

But the second the spin cycle started, it hit me.

There was something missing— the most important ingredient.

While I don’t mind the taste of things like almond milk and spinach, and I appreciate their nutritional value, the main reason I mix them together every morning is because they nicely coexist with my favorite digestible entity:

Chocolate.

And I’d forgotten to add in the unsweetened cocoa powder.

(For the full recipe, check out Anna Vocino’s cookbook, “Eat Happy”. Note: I improvise with the Greek yogurt.)

If you’re like I am, you spend a lot of time feeling lost.

Whether it’s your career or romantic relationships or restaurant selection on a Friday night, there’s a sense of confusion, a fear of not knowing what to do or where to go.

That may seem to be the case on the surface. And sometimes it’s true, at least initially.

But in many instances (and in time), deep down, your intentions and desires are clear. You know what you want, and you know what feels right.

You just first have to learn to pay attention to that intuition. Then you have to learn to listen to it and trust it.

Because when you do that enough, the sum of your life becomes as satisfying as its sweetest parts.

*****

This originally appeared on 100 Naked Words.