Having a gut feeling you’re meant to be with someone feels like magic, like a fairy tale. You look at the person you love and understand, without a doubt, that they’re the one. You don’t have to think about it, and you don’t have to make sure; you simply know.
How is such conviction possible?
If you’re impulsive, you’re probably happily going for it. If you happen to be someone who’s ordinarily a cautious person, this experience can be confusing. You feel you’re sure of something big and don’t know why, so you might try to convince yourself that you shouldn’t feel that way.
Is this unfounded certainty making you wonder if it’s okay to trust your gut or try a more rational approach? Keep reading to find out when and why you should take a leap of faith and when it’s better to be careful.
Should You Trust The Gut Feeling You’re Meant To Be With Someone?
Gut instincts are never wrong, the saying goes. Why is that so? The reason lies in the very definition of intuition: it’s the ability to understand something without consciously thinking about it.
While it might be easy to view it as some sort of clairvoyance, the sixth sense we call intuition or a gut feeling actually comes from relying on your experience and trusting your emotions. You don’t need to take a step-by-step approach and mull over something when you already understand it.
Intuition plays a great role in decision-making. We use it every day to make choices — we want something, so we choose it. A gut feeling is what makes you prefer one thing over another in many situations when you’re presented with a choice.
A gut feeling you’re meant to be with someone can be powerful and scary. Not having doubts about belonging with someone is a profound feeling best taken as a sign that your emotional intelligence and experience recognize compatibility.
Now that you know where it comes from, whether you should trust your gut feeling or not only depends on you, your faith in yourself, and your intuition and inspiration.
See also: Gut Feeling Someone Is Attracted To You (17 Signs It’s True)
What Are The Signs You Have A Gut Feeling You’re Meant To Be With Someone?
The biggest sign of a gut feeling you’re meant to be with someone is simply knowing it. Yeah, yeah, but what does that mean, you ask?
The easiest way to understand it is to compare this feeling to other situations when you’ve just known something. For instance, when you’re at a restaurant, you pick your meal without giving it much thought, and it perfectly hits the spot. It’s that same feeling, only on a much larger scale.
How did you do it? You knew what you wanted. You looked at the selection and found the thing that fit your wishes. You did this quickly, using your intuition and not by consciously considering every detail.
You do the same thing more or less in your choice of partner: you know what you’re looking for, and you judge a person based on those criteria and whether they’re right for you.
I promise it’s much more romantic than ordering a burger, but you get my point, right? Here are some other hints your intuition might be telling you you’ve met the one.
• Butterflies in your chest or stomach.
You probably already know that your brain, heart, and stomach are all connected. This is why feelings are often a physical thing – in your stomach or your chest. It can mean many things, from anxiety to falling in love, so context is important.
• You feel like yourself with them.
You can’t stay sad or angry around this person. Whenever you see them, your life becomes brighter. You feel like this because you like this person and because your intuition is giving you confidence and hope.
• You laugh together.
Sharing a sense of humor is a strong sign that you and another person have the potential to be close because your minds work in similar ways. Playfulness is an important component of a healthy relationship in which you can find comfort and joy.
• You can be vulnerable.
Being open about your insecurities and delicate feelings makes it easy to get hurt. Emotional vulnerability is hard, but without it, a deep connection between people is impossible.
Feeling like you can easily be vulnerable with someone shows your willingness to open up to that special person.
• You can be yourself.
Showing all of yourself the way you are is a sign that you feel like the other person won’t judge you and that you have faith that they will accept you. You enjoy spending time with them because they make you feel comfortable.
• They feel like home.
When you’re with this person, you feel at home wherever you are. It’s that precious feeling of belonging, having a place to return to wherever you go, and always having someone on your side. You feel connected and anchored, and as if you’re soulmates.
• You see things the same way.
It feels as if you agree on everything. Your values match, so you’re able to find a common point in every topic. Your opinions are similar, and even when they’re not, it’s easy to accept. From little things to big life decisions, it feels like compromise is possible every step of the way.
• You’re interested in each other.
You respect and value each other and care about each other’s opinions. You’re best friends first and foremost, and you’re genuinely interested in knowing everything about each other, from their history and ideas to everyday things.
• You’re open to a future together.
When you picture yourself ten years from now, you have no trouble seeing this person in your life. In fact, trying to imagine yourself without them is nearly impossible. It’s a clear sign that you want them in your life long-term.
•You feel like partners.
They have an important role and place in your life. You feel like “we,” like a unit. Sometimes you feel like the two of you are in a world of your own, and nothing else exists besides you two. You finish each other’s sentences and fill each other’s spaces.
• Your relationship feels natural.
From the first time you met, being together has felt natural. Meeting this person gave you a feeling of déjà vu as if you’ve always known them. Ever since the early stages of your relationship, things have been easy between you.
You get each other without overthinking and weighing your words. Being with each other gives you a sense of security.
• You’re special to each other.
You’ve never felt like this about anyone else. There’s a meaningful connection between you and your significant other, and you feel accepted and understood. Deep conversation comes easy, and just being around each other makes you happy.
How Do You Know If A Relationship Is Meant To Be?
All successful relationships share certain things in common. True love is a combination of physical attraction, emotional connection, and desire on both sides to make it work.
• The willingness and effort on both sides to make the relationship work are vital. Without it, a healthy romantic relationship is impossible, let alone a partnership between people who are meant to be.
• An emotional connection – the feeling of intimacy and the ability to share and understand each other – is what makes relationships stable and fulfilling.
• Trust, mutual respect, and honesty are the foundation of all happy relationships, not only romantic ones. Even when you argue, you look for solutions, not a victory.
• Shared values are essential if you want a long-lasting relationship. Agreeing on things you have strong opinions on and compromising on others is what you need to form a partnership.
• Respecting each other’s boundaries and giving each other space and freedom to decide how they want to be treated is necessary for a healthy relationship.
• Support for each other and the ability to rely on your partner are what make you feel secure in a relationship and motivate you.
• Acceptance of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, of each other’s feelings, thoughts, and flaws deepens intimacy and makes you feel safe that you won’t get hurt.
Why Are My Gut Feelings Always Right?
Your gut feelings are right because you trust your judgment and emotions. You are emotionally intelligent and use it to navigate your life. A lot of things we call intuition can be explained.
Based on your experience and using your feelings, you make observations. Without needing to think about it, you’re able to understand a situation and make choices.
Your subconscious reasoning, ability to read body language, and faith in your feelings allow you to gain an immediate understanding of the context of the situation.
For example, you might be able to always tell when someone is lying. You do this instinctively by being able to read their body language, the tone of their voice, their choice of words, etc. You don’t need to analyze this information because it already sort of happens in the background.
Can Gut Feelings Be Wrong?
Yes, if you’re lying to yourself. To be able to trust your gut feeling, you must be 100% honest with yourself. What does this mean?
As we mentioned before, your intuition comes from observing the world around you and subconsciously drawing conclusions from what you’ve seen. Sometimes, however, you don’t like the things you see and would rather not have to deal with them.
What do people like to do when they don’t like something? We ignore it and pretend that it’s not true. That’s how you begin lying to yourself. We’re all guilty of this. When reality isn’t how we want it to be, we fall into wishful thinking.
Here’s an example: A friend of yours has been telling you white lies, failing to be there for you when you need them, and talking about other people behind your back so much that they’re obviously talking to others about you too.
You’ve been getting all these hints that a friend of yours isn’t a real friend to you, but you’ve known them for a long time and don’t want it to be true. So what do you do? You find ways to justify their actions to yourself, and in that way, you silence your true gut feeling and replace it with wishful thinking.
If you stopped for a moment and chose to see things as they are instead of lying to yourself, you’d be able to trust your intuition again.
What Does It Mean When You Have A Weird Gut Feeling About Someone?
On the opposite side of the gut feeling you’re meant to be with someone, there’s the uneasy feeling that something is wrong. Your intuition is picking up clues about the person you’re dealing with, and if something feels weird, it usually is.
You shouldn’t ignore the bad vibes you get on a first date with a girl or a guy your friends swore was right for you. The same applies when something feels off about someone you’ve been dating for a while.
It can be the sense that they’re not what they seem, or it’s their behavior that makes you suspicious. Either way, if you can’t shake off the feeling that something is wrong, the right decision is to listen to your gut feeling.
Deciding to ignore your intuition can lead to an unhealthy relationship or heartbreak. Relationships are rarely perfect from the start, but they shouldn’t begin with anxiety and insecurity.
You’re seeing red flags you might not even be aware of. Your body has a way of telling you things, good and bad. The little voice telling you that the other person might not have good intentions senses something you might not be consciously aware of.
5 Ways To Nurture Your Intuition
If you don’t always feel confident in your intuitive feelings, you can still learn how to trust them. Listening to your inner voice can help you through tricky situations. Here are some ways to get in touch with your gut feelings.
1. Pay attention
Your intuition isn’t going to steer you wrong. It simply sheds light on the way you understand what is around you, and it can help make sense of things. Start by paying attention to your instinctive reactions and listening to them.
Think about making a decision that isn’t as big as, say, choosing a life partner – for instance, buying a new item of clothing. You see a shirt you like on the rack, try it on, and you’re immediately sure that this is your favorite shirt from now on.
In a split second, you decided that this particular shirt was right for you. You saw the material, the make, the fit, the quality, and without consciously thinking about all these things, you knew that this shirt would suit you.
However, it’s a little expensive, so you’re having second thoughts. You’re not sure if you should get a similar one you’re not that crazy about that is a little cheaper. The price makes you doubt your gut feeling because you don’t trust it.
The cheaper shirt would turn out more expensive and stay unworn in your closet because you don’t really like it. You’ll get your money’s worth if you listen to your intuition and get the shirt you’re actually looking forward to wearing.
2. Take a little time
Decision-making depends more on your confidence in your feelings and your experience than any logical analysis or thinking about it until you’re perfectly sure. When you’re faced with a difficult choice, you don’t have to know instantly.
Sometimes a short period of time can give you clarity and help you make sense of your feelings. There’s a saying that when you can’t decide, you should flip a coin, and you’ll know what you want by what result you’re hoping to get.
In that short amount of time, you’ve given yourself a chance to process the information and listened to your intuition – The key being a short amount of time. Don’t let yourself fall into the habit of overthinking until you lose perspective.
Your thoughts get clearer after you take a break from decision-making. Go get a coffee after trying on that shirt, and when you’re done, either buy it or forget about it.
3. Don’t overthink
We overthink when we ignore our intuition for reasons that aren’t our own. Usually, it’s something like convention, other people’s opinions, or insecurity that makes you distrust your gut feeling and try to convince yourself it’s wrong.
You can be as detailed in your careful consideration of things as you want and still not reach a decision or make a choice you’re happy with. You might analyze a situation and evaluate someone until you exhaust every idea and still be none the wiser.
In fact, overthinking can stop you from being able to make a decision entirely. Intuition, in turn, immediately lets you know when you’re right on target. Your gut feeling tells you the results of all the decision-making that went on in the background.
Trusting your intuition is like taking an instinctive hit on a ball flying toward you. Without panicking, you simply know what to do and do it.
4. Beware of prejudice
Let’s get back to the shirt from point one. Why did you like it in the first place? Was it because it was your style or because you thought it was something you should have or something you’ve seen someone else wear?
Lots of things can interfere with your intuition – bias, wishes, seeking approval, stereotypes. Carefully consider whether what you’re feeling is really your gut feeling making suggestions or if what you’re really feeling is some sort of prejudice.
Is the guy that feels suspicious really giving you signs that he’s a potential jerk, or does he only remind you of your ex?
5. Be honest
The only time your intuition is wrong is when you aren’t honest with yourself. Trying to justify or rationalize something can cloud your instinctive judgment and send you off course from what’s clearly the best conclusion.
Self-deception is a powerful thing. People are capable of playing mental gymnastics and ignoring what’s right in front of them when they want to reach a certain conclusion regardless of the actual situation.
This is especially common in cases when you feel that something is wrong, but you’re trying to find ways to convince yourself that you’re mistaken.
If all the signs tell you that someone is no good, don’t try to find excuses for their behavior. They won’t get better just because you want them to be.
Be perfectly honest with yourself if you want to be able to rely on your intuition. It can tell you when it’s time to lay low and when it’s time to act. When to let yourself open your heart, and when you should walk away.
Know Yourself, Trust Yourself
The gut feeling you’re meant to be with someone can be trusted if you have faith in your intuition. This means being honest with yourself about what’s in front of you and having the confidence to accept what your instincts are telling you.
Regardless of how important that decision might be, relying on your intuition in decision-making can prove both faster and more successful than if you were to analyze everything. As long as you’re not trying to convince yourself of anything, your gut feeling can be trusted.