Why the Three Centers Matter

Why the Three Centers Matter

“When seeking answers in life, it’s often our instinct to turn to others for guidance. We face a conundrum or dilemma and so we call on advice from trusted allies. It’s sensible to seek direction… But, ultimately it's our own experience, our own understanding that will show us the way.” -- Tamara Levitt

There is nothing quite like finding, learning and interacting with our own internal sources of wisdom. When we gain the ability to listen to our centers of intelligence, our own “Internal Board of Directors,” we gain not just peace of mind, but three powerful guides on our journey.

Learning to listen to our three centers – Head, Heart and Gut – and their unique and powerful voices isn’t a process that comes easily. For me, it arrived only after the intense pain and anguish of one of the darkest points of my life.

In 2017, I was still recovering from a brush with my own mortality brought about by cancer. The battle forced me into greater communication with myself. Once I learned to listen to my three centers, I knew what I had to do.

I left a long, successful career as a researcher and shifted my focus:

I spent time helping leaders at the world’s biggest brands better understand their consumers. Now, I help those leaders better understand themselves and their teams: what motivates them, what gives them strength, and how they might grow closer and more powerful together.

It was through my experience with cancer that I came to realize I was only operating at ⅓ capacity. I naturally live in my Head Center, and I was burning out by over-utilizing it – trying to think my way out of every situation, ignoring the important input of my Heart (relationships, connection, empathy) and Gut (instinct, body, inner knowing).

I trapped myself in an endless cycle: overwork, overthink, burn out, retreat, regret, repeat. How many years I wasted not being a full version of myself.

The stress doesn’t have to take you to the brink. There is more to you than you realize. There was more to me than I could have imagined.

I am reflecting on this as I wrap up a 6 week “Listening Tour.” I invested in a sabbatical because after 4 years building a business from scratch, I knew that taking time to pause and reset was vital to my well-being and survival.

This sabbatical was also for you. I took time away so that I could come back stronger, with a better understanding of what it is I’m trying to say.

If you do not learn how to listen equally to your Head, your Heart, and your Gut, your Three Centers of Intelligence, you will continue going through life as ⅓ of who you could be, with one dial turned to 10 and the other two uselessly set to zero. Take it from me, this is no way to live.

Over the next weeks, I will share more about these Three Centers of Intelligence, the Head, the Heart, and the Gut.

I invite you to journey with me and see for yourself what resonates, what feels true to you, and what you feel your centers are saying.