To enjoy your pregnancy you’ve got to trust yourself.
You make your choices as best you can at any given moment with the data you have. And, note that there are different kinds of data. One kind of “data” is the information you can get from books, magazines, and websites; it’s what you know is possible from what you’ve read and heard from others; it’s statistics, reports, and other types of researchable facts.
There is also another type of data that is equally important and valid: your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to what you’ve read, heard, witnessed, and/or experienced. In fact, these latter pieces of data, at times, may be more important. You’re never going to have all the facts and information, and how you think and feel about the information you have is likely to be quite telling.
To trust yourself and the choices you’re making, you want to tune into your thoughts and feelings and use them as guidance.
- Gather the type and amount of information that you think is most important to you.
- Notice your reactions – what you’re thinking and feeling – as you take in this information.
- Do your best to understand your true feelings and opinions.
- Make the choice that’s best aligned with your thoughts and feelings.
This process may look simple (and linear – it’s not always linear!). And, I acknowledge it is much easier said than done, at times. It can be easy to worry that you don’t have all the information that you should or that you’re making decisions about something you don’t understand very well. Yet, getting worked up and worried about a circumstance you can’t change doesn’t serve a purpose. It doesn’t help you. Instead, you want to trust: trust that you have the information you need to make the best decision for you, trust that you’ve processed what you need to in order to understand your own preferences, trust that you’ve made the best choice, trust that there’s a reason you made this choice. This is a way to truly empower yourself.
This is how to enjoy your pregnancy: use your thoughts and feelings as guidance and then trust the choices you make as a result.
