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I've been thinking a lot lately about listening. Specifically, about listening to ourselves.
So much of what we do as advocates centers on helping clients trust their own knowing. We sit with someone who says, "I know something isn't right, but my doctor says everything's fine." We listen, validate, and help them trust that whisper inside that says something needs attention. We help them advocate for themselves when their intuition is telling them to keep asking questions.
It's beautiful work. Essential work. But I wonder how often we extend that same grace to ourselves.
How many of us are walking around ignoring our own body's signals? Pushing through exhaustion because there's too much to do. Dismissing our own anxiety or persistent worry as just part of the job. Telling ourselves to toughen up while we're actually running on empty. We're so good at helping others trust themselves that we forget to trust ourselves.
Here's what I've been learning: there's a crucial difference between fear and intuition, and we need to learn to tell them apart.
Fear is loud. It screams. It catastrophizes. It creates elaborate stories about everything that could go wrong. It spirals and grows darker the more we feed it. Fear says, "You can't handle this" and "Something terrible is going to happen" and "Everyone will see you're not good enough." Fear demands our attention and often gets it, because it's so forceful, so insistent, so impossibly hard to ignore.
Intuition is quiet. It's a whisper. It's the calm knowing that something isn't right, even when you can't quite explain why. It's the gentle inner voice that says, "You need rest" or "This situation isn't safe" or "It's time to make a change." Intuition doesn't need to yell because it knows the truth. It speaks once and then waits for us to listen.
The problem is that intuition is easy to miss. In our busy lives, drowning in noise and responsibility, that quiet whisper gets drowned out by fear's relentless screaming. And the longer we feed the fear, the longer we listen to it, believe it, act on it, the longer and darker it becomes. It metastasizes. It colors everything. It convinces us that the loud voice is the true voice, the real voice, the only voice worth hearing.
But it's not.
So what does it mean to listen to ourselves?
It means paying attention to your body. That tightness in your chest- what's it telling you? That constant fatigue that doesn't go away with sleep- what do you need? That persistent worry that won't let go- is it fear spiraling, or is it intuition whispering something important?
It means creating enough quiet to actually hear ourselves. Not the noise of the day, not the demands of others, not the fear screaming in your head, but your own quiet knowing.
It means trusting that knowing even when it's inconvenient. Even when it means saying no. Even when it means asking for help. Even when it means changing course.
And it means recognizing that the advocates who best serve their clients are the ones who've learned to serve themselves first. Not selfishly, but with the same wisdom, compassion, and courage we offer to everyone else.
I want to invite you to try something this month:
When you feel that tight knot of anxiety or fear, pause. Notice it. And then ask yourself: Is this fear screaming, or is this intuition whispering?
If it's fear, what story is it telling you? Can you thank it for trying to protect you and then gently set it aside?
If it's intuition, what is it trying to tell you? What do you need to hear? What action might your quiet knowing be pointing toward? And then listen. Really listen. To yourself. To your body. To that whisper beneath all the noise.
Your clients need you healthy and whole. But more than that, you deserve to be healthy and whole, not just for what you can do for others, but simply because you matter.
Trust yourself. Listen to your body. Distinguish the whisper from the scream.
Join Us for This Important Conversation
Speaking of listening to your body, I want to invite you to our upcoming community conversation: "Love Your Liver: Understanding Liver Health, Risk Factors, and Prevention."
The liver is often called "the silent organ." It performs hundreds of essential functions, yet liver disease frequently develops without obvious symptoms, meaning many people don't realize they're at risk until serious complications arise. This is the ultimate example of a whisper we need to listen to: our body's subtle signals.
Whether you're concerned about your own liver health, supporting clients navigating liver disease, or simply want to deepen your understanding of this vital organ, this conversation is for you.
Take Care,
Malynnda A. Stewart
Board Chair, HealthAdvocateX
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