Ever get that weird, electric buzzing in your chest when you think about a specific goal? It’s not just anxiety. It’s a signal. Most people spend their lives waiting for a "sign" from the universe or a green light from their boss, but honestly, the most reliable compass you’ve got is your own nervous system. If you can feel it chase it. It’s a simple mantra, but it’s backed by some pretty heavy-duty psychological concepts regarding intuition and the flow state.
Look, the world is noisy. We’re constantly told to be "rational" or "data-driven." Data is great for spreadsheets, sure. But for your life? Data doesn’t account for the spark. When you feel a physical pull toward a project, a person, or a pivot in your career, that’s your subconscious processing thousands of data points faster than your conscious mind can keep up with. It’s what psychologists often call "somatic markers."
Antonio Damasio, a well-known neuroscientist, has talked extensively about how these bodily feelings guide our decision-making. Basically, your gut isn't just for digesting; it’s an auxiliary brain. If you ignore that pull, you’re essentially ignoring a massive part of your intelligence.
The Science of Following the Feeling
Why does if you can feel it chase it actually work? It's about the Reticular Activating System (RAS) in your brain. This is the filter that decides what information is important enough to enter your conscious mind. When you "feel" something deeply—that gut-level excitement or even a bit of healthy fear—you’re essentially tagging that objective in your RAS. Suddenly, you start seeing opportunities everywhere. You notice the book on the shelf that addresses your problem. You overhear a conversation at a coffee shop that gives you an idea.
It isn't magic. It’s focus.
Most people talk themselves out of things because they don't have a 10-step plan. They wait. They hesitate. But if you can feel it chase it, you skip the paralysis by analysis phase. You move. Movement creates its own feedback loop. You learn more from one week of "chasing" than you do from six months of "planning."
The Difference Between Feeling and Whim
We need to be clear about something. There is a huge difference between a fleeting impulse—like wanting a donut—and a deep-seated "feeling" about a life direction. The donut is a dopamine hit. The "chase" is usually accompanied by a sense of meaningful challenge.
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Think about the last time you felt truly obsessed with an idea. You probably couldn't sleep. Your heart rate actually spiked when you talked about it. That is the physiological signature of a pursuit worth having. If you don't chase that, you're basically telling your brain that your internal signals don't matter. That leads to burnout and a general sense of "meh" about life.
Real-World Examples of the Chase
Think about the founders of some of the most disruptive companies today. They didn't always have the "data" to prove their idea would work. In fact, the data usually said it wouldn't. But they felt the gap in the market. They felt the frustration of the current user experience.
Take someone like Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. She had no background in fashion or retail. She just had a feeling that a specific type of undergarment should exist because she wanted it. She felt the need. She chased it. She didn't wait for a degree in textile engineering. She went to hosiery mills and kept knocking until someone listened.
Or look at athletes. A quarterback doesn't always "see" the receiver is open through a conscious calculation of distance and wind speed. They feel the timing. If they hesitate to think about the physics, the window closes.
Why Fear is Often the Best Feeling to Chase
This sounds counterintuitive. Why would you chase fear? Because on the other side of that specific type of "I might fail" fear is usually the most growth you’ll ever experience.
If a goal doesn’t scare you at least a little bit, it’s probably too small. The "feeling" in if you can feel it chase it often manifests as a mix of exhilaration and terror. Psychologists call this "optimal arousal." It’s that sweet spot where you are challenged enough to stay engaged but not so overwhelmed that you freeze.
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Breaking the Cycle of Hesitation
We live in a culture of "optimization." We want to know the "best" way to do everything before we start. This is a trap. You can’t optimize a path you haven’t started walking.
When you decide that if you can feel it chase it is your operating system, your life gets a lot simpler.
- You stop asking for permission.
- You stop waiting for the "perfect" time (it doesn't exist).
- You start valuing your intuition over external validation.
Honestly, most of the "experts" you see online are just people who decided to chase a feeling and figured out the details later. They weren't smarter than you. They just had a higher tolerance for the messiness of the chase.
The Nuance of the Long Game
Chasing doesn't mean you catch it tomorrow. This isn't about instant gratification. It’s about the direction of your energy. When you chase something you feel deeply about, the work itself becomes the reward. You’ve probably heard people talk about "the journey" so much it’s become a cliché, but there’s a reason for that.
If you're chasing something just for the trophy at the end, but you hate the daily grind, you don't actually "feel" it. You’re just performatively chasing a status symbol.
True "feeling" is when you’re willing to endure the boring, repetitive, or difficult parts of the process because the core of the mission resonates with your soul. If you can feel it chase it, even when the "it" is hard. Especially then.
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Actionable Steps to Start Your Chase
Stop overthinking. Seriously. If there is something sitting in the back of your mind—a business idea, a conversation you need to have, a skill you want to learn—and it gives you that specific internal "buzz," here is how you handle it:
Audit your physical reactions.
Next time you're presented with an opportunity, don't look at your calendar first. Look at your body. Is your chest tight in a bad way, or are you leaning forward? Do you feel a surge of energy? Start logging these reactions. Your body is a better bullshit detector than your brain.
The 24-Hour Rule.
If you feel that pull, take one concrete action within 24 hours. Don't "research" for three weeks. Send the email. Buy the domain. Sign up for the class. Buy the running shoes. The goal is to signal to your brain that when it sends a signal, you respond with action.
Ignore the "How" for a minute.
The "how" is the graveyard of great ideas. If you focus on how you'll get to the finish line before you've even left the blocks, you'll never move. Focus on the "what" and the "why." The "how" reveals itself through the process of movement.
Embrace the pivot.
Chasing doesn't mean running in a straight line. You might start chasing one feeling and realize halfway through that the "feeling" was actually pointing you toward something slightly different. That’s okay. That’s not a failure; it’s a refinement. The only way to get that clarity is to be in motion.
Quit the comparison game.
Your "feeling" is yours. It won't look like your neighbor's or that influencer's on your feed. If you try to chase what they feel, you'll end up exhausted and unfulfilled. Stick to your own internal compass.
The reality is that regret usually comes from the things we didn't do, not the things we tried and failed at. If you can feel it chase it because the alternative—wondering "what if" for the next twenty years—is a much heavier burden to carry than the effort of the chase itself.
Go do the thing. You already know which one it is.