I won on the Grand National last week ...

So why am I telling you this?! I do have a reason and purpose. So please read on. The way I am doing these blogs is to just write about what feels right to me at the moment. So as I was wondering what to write about I started to recall how I listened to - and then promptly feared - my intuition when it came to placing a bet on the Grand National.

I won something, so I must have done something right. But the results could have been more if I just followed my intuitive guidance rather than letting my mind take over. (Note: Even I'm trying to build on learning to trust my intuition without letting the mind have so much control). So to the story. Just like millions of others I knew that the yearly Grand National was taking place on the weekend of April 8th. So a few days before it my attention drew to the event and a small thought was always at the back of my mind to find out more about the name of the horses that were participating this year. And then to go ahead and pick a horse. That was to be my technique. I wasn't going to look at the horse history, jockey or anything like that. I simply wanted to go for a name that appealed to me (crazy, illogical? Maybe. But what does logic have to do with intuition?). So on Saturday morning - obviously my mind was already aware of the thoughts that were formed in my brain for the last few days - I woke up with an 'intuitive' thought: to put money on a horse that was at a 33-1. That was the exact thought I had. 33-1. Nothing more. Nothing less. I logged onto a betting site, and I went to the horses section, and down to the 33-1 horses. I think I saw a few horses, or a couple that caught my attention. I then noticed the name of one horse: "Rule the World". "What a cool name" I thought, and promptly had this excitement run over me, and thats when I said to myself, "that's the one". So cue to the following thoughts which ultimately decided what winnings I was about to take in. My feeling was to put £10 on "Rule the World" (the ultimate winner). (Note: £10 was the highest monetary value that I was prepared to put on any bet. The way I look at betting is like buying a consumable product. Something like buying a coffee or cocktail. if I lost it would be no big deal). It was at this point - when putting the £10 bet on "Rule the World" - that I stopped in my tracks. My next thought (aka: fear) came to mind. "Wait" it told me. "Are you sure?" "What if it's one of the other 33-1 horses? What if it's none of these". This made me stop and and split the costs across other horses. The justification I gave myself was to be safe, and cover my options, and give myself more of a chance to win. (Fear, fear, fear!!!!).

The game starts and ends (I didn't watch the race as I was busy). I found out from the news that Rule the World had ended up winning the Grand National. I was overjoyed and then got annoyed at myself for second guessing my initial intuitive feeling.

And so to the point of this blog post. We tend to overthink things - a lot. Which most likely prevents us from taking the right action for us (not for society, but us). Fear (remember as I wrote in a previous blog post: False Evidence Appearing Real) is crippling.

With regards to the race, there was definitely a different feeling when I choose "Rule the World" over the other horses. I felt excited with the 1st choice, and more so cautionary and not as excited with the other choices.

I do think (normally) I am aware of the different emotions that help guide me to what is right for me, and then what is a choice coming out of fear. Yet on this occasion I allowed myself to get trapped in my mind and didn't have the awareness of why I was about to take a fearful driven action.

How many times have you been in that situation in your life? (I know I can think of a couple).

- What choices feel safe, yet not exciting (that's a huge sign that they are not soul driven!)?

- What choices feel scary, but exciting? (those are the ones that you should pursue). The one's that make you feel alive and your heart beats in those moments.

Well I did buy myself a celebratory drink. It could have been a lot more if I just followed that excited feeling, and not let fear win over on this occasion. Ah well, there is always next time, and for now I simply live and learn.