Trusting Your Gut in a Trend-Obsessed World

We live in a time where "fitting in" is sold as safety.

Be productive. Be pretty. Be palatable. 

Be successful—but not too much. 

Be spiritual, but not weird. 

Be healthy, but only if it looks good on Instagram.

We’re taught to live in boxes.

To shrink ourselves into categories that make other people comfortable.

To keep up. To be chosen. To be liked.

And we’ve gotten so used to it, most of us don’t even realize we’re doing it.

Scroll, scroll, scroll—and before you know it, you’re buying a supplement you don’t need, trying a workout you hate, or forcing a morning routine that makes your life feel more rigid than free.

It’s subtle, it’s subconscious, and it’s everywhere.

But here’s the bold truth:

You don’t need to follow any of it.

You are not behind.

You are not broken.

You are not missing out.

Your gut—your inner voice, your body’s wisdom—is still there.

Quiet. Steady. Patient.

It doesn’t yell like the trends do. But it knows.

It knows when something feels fake.

It knows when you’re performing instead of living.

It knows when you’re pleasing instead of choosing.

And here’s the thing: trends will always come and go.

But your truth? That’s timeless.

You weren’t made to live in someone else’s idea of “normal.”

You weren’t meant to spend your life chasing what’s currently cool.

You were built for alignment. For joy. For depth.

So this week, notice where you’ve been living out of habit or pressure.

Ask yourself:

• Am I doing this because it feels right, or because I feel like I should?

• Who am I trying to please?

• What am I afraid will happen if I stop doing this?

You don’t need to rebel loudly.

You don’t need to explain your NO.

You don’t need a reason that others approve of.

You just need to feel it.

And when you trust that feeling, even in small ways, you begin to return to yourself.

Because in a world that wants you to follow the crowd, the most courageous act is to listen within—and choose you.

Asha Bagwandeen