How can we trust ourselves in this life where everyone has an opinion on everything, where we spend a lot of time watching what our neighbor is doing, and above all, in this life where we are afraid of the judgment and gaze of others? In other words, how do you listen to your heart? Here are 10 tips on how to listen to your heart and live your life.

1 – Don’t think “utility”, listen to your heart

Indeed, to make our own choices and live our own lives, it’s essential to stop thinking about the word “utility”.

Too often, we ask ourselves: if I do this, how will it help me on my resume or in the eyes of others?

What if what you were about to do was useful to you, because it would simply make you happier?

But here’s where it gets tricky. It’s not about being happy, it’s about doing things right.

That’s why listening to your heart and trusting yourself is the way to choose happiness.

That’s why, learn to ask yourself: “Is what I’m about to do going to make me happier, happier, yes or no?”

2 – Don’t be afraid of change

Often, our heart will urge us to do things, and we’ll think it’s nonsense.

Indeed, one day we may wake up with the urge to learn Italian or to learn the language of plants.

Right away, you judge yourself and say to yourself: this doesn’t look like my life at all. It’s a load of crap!

But it’s not all nonsense. Yes, whatever your heart invites you to do, to live, is essential. And why is that? Because it knows it will make you happier.

It may not be “useful”, it may be “trash” in the eyes of others, and yet it’s all about trusting yourself.

Follow your heart’s wishes, for they will lead you to your happiness and to the person you really are.

So trust it. Trust yourself.

3 – Don’t be afraid of failure and listen to your heart

Too often, we’re afraid to embark on the projects of our heart. Indeed, learning Japanese or the language of plants will not be easy, like all learning.

So we feel the fear of failure: what if I don’t succeed?

Do you think your heart wants you to get a degree or become a naturopath? It just wants to learn. Nothing more, nothing less.

So don’t be afraid of failure. Take the plunge without expectations. With joy and good humor.

Indeed, listening to your heart and trusting yourself means ceasing to want results, preferring to focus on the present moment and the joy of that moment: just learning, marvelling at the new.

In fact, there’s no question of proving anything, either to yourself or to others.

4 – Face to face

Listening to your heart invites you to take a good, hard look at yourself. In other words, to take off the masks and step out of the roles we’ve been playing for a while now.

Listening to your heart means discovering and reinventing yourself every day.

In a way, it’s asking the question: who am I today?

And not with a view to fitting into a box, but rather to discovering our thousand faces.

Because it’s curiosity that drives us, not the need to play a new role.

5 – Go back to basics as often as necessary

It’s not easy to listen to your heart. Our mind is strong, but it needs security and to anchor itself in what it knows.

In other words, it’s afraid of anything new.

So, day after day, it will make us doubt and will make many efforts to lock us into boxes and roles that reassure it.

That’s why you need to go back to basics regularly and remember that your goal in life is not to prove anything, but to be happy in your own way.

And every day is another opportunity to discover one of your many faces and listen to your heart.

So take a breath and remember that your mission is simply to be happy.

6 – Allow yourself to have fun and listen to your heart

Listening to your heart and trusting yourself is above all about allowing yourself to have fun.

However, the verb “to have fun” is not well received in modern society. Instead, we need to be serious, make serious choices and do serious things.

In fact, fun is for children. But what do children do day after day? They listen to their hearts and trust each other.

Yes, they’re sure of what they want, hence the many crises when we adults tell them “No, that’s not reasonable.”

That’s why it’s high time we allowed ourselves to have fun again.

In other words, let go of the serious side.

7 – Listening to your heart means allowing yourself to dream

Allow yourself to dream like a child. Children dream of doing a thousand things in life. They have no limits.

We adults, on the other hand, put a lot of limits on ourselves. For fear of how others will look at us, but also because we don’t trust ourselves.

Yet dreaming is essential. Dreaming opens up a world of possibilities.

But we put too much pressure on ourselves.

Why not just dream about an ideal world and see what our hearts would like to do in it? Without pressure, just out of curiosity, love and joy?

Remember, dreaming isn’t serious! But it’s essential, vital even.

8 – Give yourself permission to act

Listening to your heart means giving yourself permission to act, that is, to take one step, then another, towards what makes your heart vibrate with joy.

It’s about moving forward and trusting ourselves.

It’s to stop thinking about judging others and stop judging ourselves.

In fact, it means taking small steps, any way we can, in our own way and at our own pace.

It’s simply taking action to try and experiment.

And it’s about moving forward and seeing where it takes us, out of curiosity, playfulness and joy.

9 – Allow yourself to believe, to listen to your heart

Allow yourself to believe, to believe that it’s possible, to believe in yourself, in your dreams, to believe in your heart, to believe in life!

It’s about believing that there’s more to life than all that: the roles, the worries, the fears.

Life is our dreams, our desires, our projects, our trials, our failures, our experiences.

It’s believing that life is beautiful and that it’s a playground!

It’s about allowing ourselves to expect the best rather than the worst.

10 – Never stop trying to listen to your heart

Listening to your heart won’t always be easy. Indeed, there are days when it will seem easy and other days when it won’t be.

Our heart whispers, while our mind screams. So, sometimes, the latter will take over with its fears and beliefs. But that’s okay.

Let’s keep moving forward, always aware that our heart is there, and that we’re ready to listen and follow it.

In fact, it’s all about remembering that life isn’t perfect, that there are ups and downs, and that we too are not perfect with our doubts.

So let’s breathe and choose to never stop believing that it’s possible to listen to our hearts.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover What to do when you’re depressed: 10 questions to ask yourself to feel better
Discover Why aren’t we happy in life? 7 things to stop

I recommend this inspiring book:

Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life by Cleo Wade

Heart Talk by Cleo Wade is a collection of poetic wisdom that encourages readers to listen to their hearts and embark on a path of authenticity and self-discovery. Through her eloquent and thought-provoking words, Cleo Wade inspires us to connect with our inner truths, embrace challenges and cultivate a life that resonates with our deepest desires. This book is a heartfelt guide that encourages us to trust our intuition and embrace the transformative power of listening to the wisdom that resides in our hearts.

I’ve read this book three times now and love it.
Don’t let the size of the book or the number of words on each page fool you; it’s full of questions and intentions.
The last two times I’ve read it, I’ve read 2-4 pages in the morning to start the day with reflection and wonderful themes to incorporate into my day.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself