Volume 3, Issue 6 - June 2002

Last night I sat down to watch my favourite TV show "Trading Spaces". It is a show on The Learning Channel (TLC) where neighbours switch houses and decorate a room in each other's house. They come with a professional designer, a whole work crew (which they don't show), 48 hours for the transformation and $1000. The episode last night was priceless. If you are a fan of this show, you know the one I'm about to tell you about.

Once the rooms have been made-over, the owners come in and see it for the first time in 48 hours. The rules of this show state that you have no say in what happens to your room, you must agree to give them "carte-blanche". Now the designers do spend time with the couple in advance to find out what they are thinking, what they like, and what they don't like. That doesn't mean the designers will agree with the home owners, but it does give them a flavour for the taste the home owners have.

Last night the couple walked into their new living room and hated it instantly on sight! Hated it so bad that the woman had to leave the room to compose herself. Unfortunately, the microphone was not turned off while she was crying her heart out off camera! It was heartbreaking, and hilarious at the same time.

Have you ever had that type of experience? Where you knew that you needed something different, but hated what you got? The reason people go on this show in the first place is because they don't know what to do with the room in question… so they call in an expert who will help them.

I went to a career counsellor when I was in high school. She told me what I should be doing "when I grow up". I wanted to be a teacher. She thought that I was best suited as a nurse. So, I went to nursing school. One month after graduation, I left the nursing profession. It is a very difficult job, and not for me. I am not well suited to the nursing profession. I should have trusted my intuition. My training career is very much like teaching, I just speak to adults. I should have gone ahead to teacher's college regardless of what the career counsellor told me.

The woman in last night's episode should have trusted her own intuition on what to do to her living room. She knew what she didn't want (and unfortunately, that is exactly what the designer gave her!). She just didn't trust her intuition to do what she did want. Or perhaps she just never spent any time thinking about what she did want done with her living room.

We all have intuition. We don't have to rush it. If you start thinking about something, whether it be to redecorate your living room, take a different career path, or change something drastic in your life, you need to spend some time thinking about it. If you spend 5 minutes everyday thinking about it (reading magazines, looking on the internet, doing some type of research), your intuition will guide you in the right direction for you. Once you have spent enough time thinking about it, and that time is different for everyone, then your heart and mind will be in sync with your choice.

Most of us don't trust our intuition. We second guess ourselves constantly. We worry about the little things, and they hold us back. Trust your intuition. Some people call it "business instinct" and some people call it "gut reaction" but trust that your mind/heart know what is best for you.

Rhonda Scharf (Finniss) is a Professional Speaker, Trainer and Consultant and President of ON THE RIGHT TRACK - Training & Consulting and is available to deliver customized workshops or keynote speeches at your next convention. Call today at 1-877-213-8608 or e-mail Rhonda@on-the-right-track.com. Since you are now visiting her site, why not take a moment and sign up here for her complimentary quarterly newsletter.