What Did You Do With Jill?Jill Whalen's healthy lifestyle transformation                                               

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

Raise your hand if you’re a workaholic.

If you work 10+ hours a day, my Magic 8 Ball tells me that “chances are good” you are.

Like most workaholics, you probably have lots of excuses reasons why you have to work.

“Demanding boss.”

“Someone’s gotta do it.”

“Not enough time in the day.”

“I’m the only one who can do it right.”

I might ruffle some feathers here, but I’m calling bullshit on all of it.

The reason you are a workaholic is, just like all addictions, it feels good to you.

Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

I saw a scene in a movie recently where a boy had fallen out of a boat and was thrashing around because he couldn’t swim. His friend on the shore yelled, “Just stand up!” As it turned out, he was in shallow water and simply needed to put his feet on the ground.

Once he knew he could stand, drowning was no longer an issue.

It’s the same with any misunderstanding.

Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

Do you pay attention to how you feel?

It’s one of the most important things we can do for ourselves.

Because when we’re not feeling generally happy, we’re out of alignment with our true nature.

While it’s okay to feel bad (it happens to the best of us!), it’s not our natural state. Sadly, we’re so used to feeling crappy, we think that it’s normal.

But it’s definitely not.

Feeling unhappy is a sign that we’re out sync with our innate well-being.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been writing and talking about personal transformation and its effect on my life and relationships since 2013. Besides writing in this blog, I’ve also hosted interviews with others, been interviewed myself, created videos and written articles for other publications.

My book Victim of Thought: Seeing Through the Illusion of Anxiety is now available on Amazon!

Most of my inspirational videos can be viewed on my Youtube Channel. There you’ll find them categorized into playlists such as Uncovering our Innate Wellbeing (covering the subject of happiness and peace being inside of us and accessible at all times),  Wisdom on the Water (my thoughts on various matters while kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding), and Authentic Marketing (a melding of my old work with my new).

Below is a selection of interviews that can provide you with an idea of the kinds of things I talk about. Please contact me if you’d like to set up an interview. Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

Part of life entails making snap judgments about people and circumstances. As soon as we learn to talk or even just understand language, we start categorizing and labeling everything we encounter.

This labeling, however, leads us to making assumptions–especially about people. As soon as we meet someone new we try to figure out what they’re about and who they remind us of. There’s nothing wrong with doing this, but when we “typecast” others consciously or unconsciously it can cause problems.

I saw this in action recently when an old friend of mine was accused of being a “certain type” by someone who didn’t know her very well.

Here’s how it played out…

Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version. There is also a video to go along with this topic.]

There is nothing better than the feeling of peace.

Which is why we spend every moment of every day attempting to find it. Peace is like a homing device that’s beckoning us to come closer. It’s a sense of calm neutrality. It’s true happiness. In his new book, Michael Neill calls it “The Space Within.” And in Dicken Bettinger and Natasha Swerdloff’s book, they call it “Coming Home.” Anita Moorjani might call it “Heaven on Earth.”

Regardless of what you call it, peace is the feeling we all strive for–whether we know it or not.

Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

In a recent popular post I talked about how keeping our mouth shut when others seem to do or say things that bother us, can go a long way towards strengthening our relationships with them.

While this practice has been very helpful to me (when I remember) I can’t help but wonder…

Why am I’m bothered by them in the first place?

Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

What if I told you that you’ve been lied to your entire life?

Not just you, but everyone.

And what if this lie was making you (and the rest of the world) feel miserable?

Would you want to know the truth?

Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

Why is it so hard for us to be our true authentic self?

My guess is fear.

It seems that our authenticity gets “beaten” out of us when we’re little. Between getting teased as kids for being our wacky selves and our parents berating us to “act like everyone else,” slowly but surely we start to create a public persona that’s considered socially acceptable. We believe if the rest of the world knew how crazy, weird, dumb, silly or whatever we are deep inside, that there’s no way in hell they could like us–let alone love us. Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

This past Sunday (May 1, 2016) marked 3 years since I began my transformational journey. What started as a simple decision to lose weight, has culminated in a whole new me–both physically and mentally.

Here’s a recap: Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

Some of you may have wondered where I come up with all the [crazy] [profound] [interesting] [spiritual] [odd] blog posts that I write. (Choose whichever word best describes how you feel about them!) They come from my own experiences as well as conversations I have with others. However, I also spend a lot of time watching, listening and reading various philosophies which impact what I write. Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

I know it’s contrary to the way the world looks and feels on the surface, but we live in the experience of our thoughts. If you can start to grasp this strange inside-out nature of life–you’ll see and experience your own life in a whole new way. The more you truly see that it’s your own thoughts creating your experiences–and not the other way around–the more happy you’ll be. I promise!

With that in mind, here are some personal experiences where my thoughts played tricks on me and my reality changed in an instant: Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

© Mad Magazine

You know what’s weird? Worry.

I can’t remember even one instance where something I worried about ever actually occurred. This isn’t to say that it’s never happened, but the fact that I can’t think of any tells me that my worry has a really bad track record! Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version. You may also want to watch the video where I answer some questions about anxiety.]

Disclaimer: Anyone who’s followed me for any length of time knows I’d be the first to tell you that if you see a claim on a blog that says something like “be free from anxiety without doing anything!” you should leave that blog and never come back. Which is super ironic in that’s exactly what I’m about to tell you in this blog post. However, if you bear with me, I promise that what I’ve learned and seen work in my own life is not akin to some fake “overnight success” story where if you just send me all your money I’ll tell you the secret! Not in the least. First of all, I don’t want your money. Second of all, the “secret” if you will, is actually just common sense. But you know how common sense is–not common unless you actually know it. Sadly, most of us have grown up being taught the exact opposite of what I’m about to tell you.

Sooooo…if you haven’t been scared off yet and you trust me to deliver on the goods, then the worst that will happen is you’ll think I’m a quack and move on. The BEST is you’ll hear something that just might possibly change your life.

Intrigued? Then please continue… Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

Change Your Thoughts–Change Your Relationships!

Have you ever thought someone was mad at you only to find out they were just worried about something completely unrelated to you?

I remember an experience like that one day many moons ago when I was in college. The hypochondriac in me was worried about some non-existent health issue, and therefore I was being more quiet and introspective than usual. That night as I lay in bed before going to sleep, all of a sudden my roommate burst out, “I’m sorry!” Confused, I asked her what she was sorry for. She answered, “I don’t know, but whatever it is that you’re mad at me for!”

Most people can probably relate to this scenario. When we think that someone is mad at us, we come up with all sorts of things we must have done to piss them off. After all, why would they be so mad if we didn’t do anything wrong. During those times, it all feels so real. My roommate absolutely knew for certain in her head that I was mad at her, and it didn’t feel good. She went through all the feelings she would normally go through if I was in fact mad at her.

In other words, we create entire stories in our heads. Read the rest of this entry »

[Jill’s Note: If you prefer to listen rather than read, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the audio version.]

Plugged Into Intuition!

We’ve all had “gut feelings” about people or things at some point in our lives. I’m sure you can think of times where you had positive experiences when you listened to your gut, and negative ones when you didn’t.

How many times have you thought something like “I knew shouldn’t have had that extra cookie!” or “If only I had taken my umbrella like I had been thinking of doing!” or “There was just something that wasn’t quite right about him,” etc.?

Yet most days we go through life without paying much attention to that little voice inside us even though it’s always accessible. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jill Whalen

++Moving On++!

Hey everyone!

Yep, you read that right. I, my friends, am moving on from SEO.

If you read my last newsletter you may recall that I mentioned that I had decided to take a break from SEO and would no longer be taking on new clients. I also told you that I’d continue to write this newsletter to keep you up with the latest on SEO. And honestly, when I wrote that, I did mean it. My identity and sense of self have been so wrapped up in SEO, and in this newsletter in particular, that at the time I couldn’t imagine ever giving it up.

Until last week.
Read the rest of this entry »