Lately, I have been reevaluating how I make my best decisions.

In the process, it occurred to me that there is a huge difference between making decisions based on being in touch with your inner workings - say, a gut feeling or your intuition - and making decisions just because you can.

When I still drank, my moods were erratic and many of my decisions were on the spot. I guess I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be looking for within me to aid the process. Now that I'm in touch with my whole being more, I understand much better what it means to give a situation the time of thought, amount of curiosity and honest respect it deserves.

I now appreciate that just because a gut feeling may show up quickly, I'm not impulsive and my inclination isn't worth less; rather, I have learned that that gut feeling's function is that of a guiding light. Once I see it, I can honour its message by mulling things over, gathering information and taking others' views into consideration.

I learned that coming back to my initial gut feeling and being able to pay attention to it is a strength, and not, as I had previously thought, a sign of immature, "improper" or incomplete decision making.

Both in my personal and professional experience, a big part of recovery is learning to tune into your intuition. Being able to rationally decide and analyze all the options is another highly useful skill, but for myself I know that things won't feel quite right until I manage to consider both - which is doable and totally worth all the effort, because it results in me living my life aligned with my interests, needs and values.