Following Your Intuition: We need to Talk About the Cost

I think we romanticise intuition.

It shows up on the covers of self-help books, wrapped in pastel quotes across social media: Follow your heart. Trust your gut. Listen to your inner knowing.

And while I’m all for the sentiment, I find these messages often leave something important out. Especially in purpose-led or changemaking work, where intuition is often framed as a leadership superpower, I propose we don’t share enough about what it really asks of us.

So, let’s talk about the cost. (And talking about it, could help us to do it more.)

For me, a fairly recent example - a cold, hard splash of a cost - came after I was offered a major grant, something I’d spent months preparing for. It was a chance to take my programme to the next stage, to bring someone on board to support me, and a long-held longing: to write a book on the Impact Sweet Spot.

When the answer came back yes, it felt like a breakthrough. Champagne bottles were opened. A contract was sent. I cried with relief.

And then, over the following weeks… a strange feeling crept in.

I began to doubt. Something felt off. And while I can’t share all the details (for privacy and avoiding unnecessary drama) I’ll say this: alongside some rational concerns, my body was sending clear signals.

One day, walking my dog through a wide, open field – a place that often brings big insights – a sentence dropped in like a lightning bolt:

Don’t do it. Pull out.

I replied in my head, “What, wait - are you mad? This is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for!”

But the sentence was louder.
So I drove back home, heart beating fast, and I sent the email to decline.

It didn’t go down fantastically, though the funder and I eventually parted on decent terms. Then, I crashed a little. My juicy plans – exciting, supported, full of possibility – were pulled out from under me like a fairytale rug.

Oh no, what now?

Self-doubt reared its ugly head. And I felt shame, too. I’d started conversations, made plans, included others. Now I had to explain. I even heard the dreaded, “Yeah… I thought it sounded too good to be true.”
Ouch.

It was time to lick my wounds. I didn’t wallow, but I also didn’t sugarcoat it. The decision had integrity, but also consequences. There was no Hollywood payoff.

And that’s the part we rarely talk about.

Following your intuition isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes it means walking away from something shiny.

Like a hungry magpie I’d gone for the glint. It was so attractive, seductive, to get my dreams financed. And hey, maybe it could’ve worked out. I’ll never know.

But the real lesson wasn’t about whether it was right or wrong. It was about listening to the best I had in that moment, call it intuition, and keeping a cool head.

After processing it all, I saw how I could use this to grow.

It was about honouring what I have to offer. How following a vision is about believing in your value, even when the world isn’t clapping all the time.

So… let’s stop glorifying intuition as some kind of perfect fix. It can be just as messy, uncertain, and painful as the rest of life.

If your gut leads you somewhere uncomfortable, it doesn’t always mean you’ve taken the wrong path. Sometimes, clarity pinches.

And if we talk about it more, we might start doing it more.
Let’s push back against the idea that intuition, purpose, or heart’s desires always come wrapped in sweetness and ease. Because that belief keeps us from making real choices. Or it makes us regret them when they don’t feel good all the way through. Then next time, we hesitate.

To me a ‘gut-based choice’ is about listening to feelings, to your body – while still including the facts, without clinging too tightly to them.

Leaving the rose-tinted glasses on the shelf.
And looking down at your feet, firmly planted on solid ground.

Whether you are a solo entrepreneur, managing a project or a team - leadership for impact asks us to stay with discomfort long enough to learn from it. To choose integrity over medals, and prioritise resilience over performance. That’s the terrain of the Impact Sweet Spot!

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p.s. Luckily, my programme is still here, thriving and alive, for you to discover.
Book a call if you want to learn more.