As a business owner, you’ve probably noticed that everyone has advice they can’t wait to share. Family, friends, Instagram gurus, even strangers at birthday parties — all seem to hold the key to your success.
With so many voices offering their version of the truth, it can start to feel like there’s a template to follow. If you just take the steps someone else laid out, you’ll inevitably get there.
But in reality, entrepreneurship is more like walking through the jungle with a machete — clearing your own path, step by step. You can learn from others and be inspired by their journey, but nobody is walking in your shoes. You bring your own values, life experiences, preferences, and gifts into your business. And while a certain strategy may have worked brilliantly for someone else, it might not feel right for you.
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What I notice with the women I work with is that their challenge is rarely about not knowing what to do — the challenge is believing that their inner knowing is something they can rely on.
And that is completely understandable. Because when something deeply matters to us, our hopes and dreams tend to come bundled with fears and doubts. Entrepreneurship often brings up our most tender fears: fear of failure, rejection, not being good enough, or taking up too much space. Those fears can cloud our inner compass, and it can be hard to tell the difference between “this isn’t right” and “this is just scary.”
In response to those fears, we often lean on logic to feel safe in our choices — backing everything up with data, strategies, and spreadsheets. And while those tools are valuable, there’s also quieter information available to us: the tension in your stomach when something’s off, or the groundedness you feel when something is right.
You may already have experienced this. Like saying yes to a collaboration that made your stomach sink — even if it looked good on paper. Or the quiet confidence that came with a risky decision that just felt right.
When we begin to trust the messages our body sends us, we start making decisions that are more aligned — not just with what’s “right,” but with what’s right for us.
A question I often get is: “How do I know if something doesn’t feel right, or if I’m just afraid?”
This is a valid question, because the difference can be hard to tell. Sometimes you feel a deep discomfort, but it is simply your nervous system feeling afraid of a big change and wanting to stay safe.
Fear often feels urgent, tight, restless — a racing heart, a tight chest, or a desire to retreat. Misalignment, on the other hand, tends to feel like a dull ache or a subtle pulling away — persistent, quiet, and usually something that builds over time, making it harder and harder to ignore.
There’s no perfect formula for telling the difference. But over time, you learn to recognize the difference between the sensations and patterns you feel in your body. It is a skill that you develop by noticing and trusting the information you are getting.
In a world that tells you to follow the blueprint to success, listening to your body might be the most valuable tool you have got.
Your body might not always give you a clear yes or no, but it offers subtle cues. A sense of ease. A wave of resistance. A quiet surge of energy. These signals matter — especially in a world that often teaches us to override them. They are our inner guidance, which we have been taught to ignore.
So the next time you’re unsure, try pausing. Check in with your body and notice the sensations you are feeling. In a world full of noise, that quiet inner voice often holds the most truth.
Steffi van Kessel is a somatic coach. She helps people process emotions and transform self-sabotaging patterns through body-based awareness. You can read more of her work here.