What does it mean for something to resonate?

When something resonates with you, it means that it proves reason, importance or truth to you. You feel it. You know it.

If you are trying to decide between multiple options, the one that sounds and feels true is the one that resonates with you. This information can prevent you from being blindsided.

For example, Mustafa is a CEO who has to decide on a new President for his company. He believes that one candidate named Kimora would fit the role. In his executive meeting, a few people on his team share a concern that Kimora has a reputation for being deceitful. Mustafa has the ultimate decision on who to hire so he decides to take a moment to look inward. When he thinks of Kimora as a good President, he wants it to be true and the logic makes sense, but it doesn’t seem to resonate with him. When he thinks of Kimora being deceptive, as much as he doesn’t want it to be true, his feelings seem to agree with the opinion of his team. Mustafa decides not to hire Kimora and searches for a candidate that does resonate with him.

If you are making excuses to defend a future action, it’s not resonating with you. In this case, you would be best served by choosing not to do it. If you have to convince yourself of something, then it’s not right for you.

For example, Bonnie has been on a diet and has been doing very well with it. One day she goes to her sister’s house for a gathering when she is offered a piece of chocolate cake. Bonnie now has a choice to make. If she debates it and thinks to herself, “I am going to eat this cake because I’ve been good all week and worked out”, she shouldn’t eat it. She’s justifying it to herself and will probably feel guilty while eating it. This guilt will manifest as her gaining weight from the cake and making her regret her decision. If Bonnie just knows that the cake won’t have any effect on her because she’s been good all week, it resonates so she should feel comfortable having it with no guilt-induced consequence.

Just because something resonates with you, it doesn’t mean that you have to do it. Some decisions have huge consequences. It would be beneficial, for your personal growth, to understand why you feel the way you do. Listen to what resonates and use that information in a way that does not induce guilt.