Learn To Trust Yourself
Learning to protect your time, trust your intuition and walk alone when the season calls for it.
How do we know who we are supposed to partner with? Who we are meant to work with, build relationships with or allow into our lives?
This past week a personal trainer at the gym offered to help me. At first, I thought, maybe this is the answer I’ve been waiting for. For months, I had been carrying the thought that I needed someone to guide me to the next level. When they showed up, it almost felt like a sign.
As soon as we started talking, I noticed something. They weren’t listening. They kept pushing their own ideas. I felt drained instead of encouraged. Even though they were kind and well-meaning, deep down I knew … this wasn’t the person for me.
Not everyone who comes into your path is meant to walk it with you. Just because someone is available or eager doesn’t mean they’re aligned with where you’re going.
Protecting Your Time, Protecting Your Calling
When you are on a path, you have to understand what the work requires. Part of that work is finding the people who align with you and part of it is being willing to let go of those who don’t. I’m learning more and more that the path of a creator requires a lot of solitude. If you don’t create boundaries, your time will be eaten away before you even notice.
I keep finding myself tested in this. Just last Sunday I was sitting at the park, and a stranger came and sat next to me. It was the second stranger in a short time who tried to start a conversation. With the first one, I knew immediately I didn’t want to talk, so I kept it brief. With the second, I decided to be polite and ask a few questions. Very early on, when they asked about me, I shared that I have a publication and that writing requires me to spend a lot of time alone. They didn’t pay much attention to what I said but I did. That was my own reminder.
After about half an hour, I said I needed to go. They asked for my number, and I declined. I knew this wasn’t a person aligned with where I’m heading.
When you know, you know. And yet it’s striking to notice how many people can show up in your life — people who are friendly, people who mean well, people who are curious. But not everyone you meet is meant to be part of your story.
What are you allowing in your life
The more I create, the more I learn that time is infinite. And with that, I’ve also learned not to overextend myself. Over time, I’ve been building a kind of muscle, an inner sense of what deserves my energy and what doesn’t.
In the last two years especially, I’ve had to rely on my own intuition. Isolation became my teacher. When my whole support system was suddenly taken away, it felt like the universe was saying: now you need to learn to walk on your own.
I went from having five coaches, five mentors, a team and a strong network to paving my path alone. That shift forced me to understand both my strengths and my weaknesses. It gave me a deeper sense of where my true energy belongs.
So the real question becomes: what are you uniquely positioned to do? Because that is where your time should go.
Lately, I’ve noticed the lesson showing up in small ways too. Even something as simple as leaving a comment online. My intuition tells me … this one is not for you to engage with. Don’t post here. Don’t respond in this way. Don’t get pulled into what isn’t yours.
It’s a quiet discipline. Protecting your time. Protecting your calling. Trusting that the energy you withhold is just as powerful as the energy you give.
Learning to Trust Myself
That was the most difficult lesson I had to learn: Instead of leaning on others, I had to lean on myself. I had to trust my own intuition, shape my own strategies and realise that what I had been searching for in others was already within me.
Over time, that shift began to build a new kind of confidence. Not the confidence that comes from being surrounded by coaches, mentors or networks, but the confidence that comes from listening to myself and standing on my own strength.
Seasons of Walking Alone
I’m not saying we don’t need people. We do. Purpose is always built in community. But there will be seasons when you are meant to walk alone. Those seasons are not punishment, they are preparation.
So here’s the real question: are you saying yes to people you already know are not aligned? And are you brave enough to wait for the yes that feels alive even if it means walking on your own for a while?
Because not everyone who offers to help is the one. The right ones, when they come, will not drain you. They will strengthen you. You’ll know the difference.
Your turn
If you’re still reading, I’d love to know:
What is the work or calling that only you can give your energy to right now?
Drop a comment. I read each one, and I reply with care.
Trusting oneself requires so much bravery. Applause to everyone working on this 👏
Well said.❤️