Ninety-nine times out of a hundred I would have spelled the word right.

S. O. U. V. E. N. I. R.

Souvenir.

However, in that moment, when it really mattered most, I had a total brain collapse and I spelled it wrong.

S. O. U. V. E. R. N. I. R.

DING… “We’re sorry Mr. Sullivan… Congratulations Riannon”

For the second year in a row Riannon Fletcher (yes, I still remember her name even though it was in the 4th grade) beat me in the school Spelling Bee. I took second place. It felt like I should have been the first loser. I was devastated and distraught. It was probably the easiest word I had been given during the course of the competition and because of one fleeting moment when I decided I’d just spout out my answer instead of thinking it through, I misspelled the word.

I missed out on the 8 inch trophy of a bee wearing glasses and a cap and gown. I missed out on my chance to go to regionals and compete for that $50 first prize furnished by the local newspaper. And most of all I missed out on the glory of being recognized by my peers as “the best speller in the school.” This was before spell check too, so it was kind of a big deal.

This is obviously all a little bit tongue in cheek (only a little though, I hold grudges), but do we ever do the same thing to our bodies?

Do we ever just skip over that internal prompting or voice that’s helping us understand what it is we need nutritionally, just because we’re in a rush or because we try and outsmart our intuition?

I know that I do.

When I was 9 years old I trained my brain countless hours so that I could win that spelling bee. The amazing thing about our bodies is that they instinctively come packaged with the ability to let us know when things are running smoothly, and when there’s a red flag.

All we have to do is take the time to listen. We have to stop and think long enough to hear our bodies tell us what they need.

As life gets increasingly busy, the ability to stop and ask ourselves “am I full, or am I trying to clear my plate?” becomes more and more difficult. When we eat that favorite food we know is going to make us sick afterward (hello pork nachos!), we’re ignoring the wisdom of our bodies.

All the studying in the world won’t better help us understand our dietary needs better than the signals from our own bodies. That’s a fact. Next time we reach for that chicken wing (traditionally indigestion-inducing), cheese stick (for the lactose sensitive), or baguette (for the gluten sensitive), let’s take a quick pause and listen before we partake.

Taking the time to learn from our bodies will definitely help in our respective journeys to be       H. A. P. P. Y. Guaranteed!

Do you have any techniques you use to listen to your super wise body? Share them in the comments!

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