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

What I Learned Last Week (Jan. 6 – Jan. 12, 2014)

By Jill Whalen

Last week was definitely an interesting week of learning for me. Something that I’ve come to realize, not just this week but since I embarked on my new adventure, is that life is supposed to be joyful. It’s something I’ve pretty much lived anyway, but I never realized that it was life’s intention for everyone. (Sadly, not everyone lives this way.) There will likely be a blog post about this coming in the future as I ponder the concept more deeply. Meanwhile, here are some of the other things I learned last week:

Monday, Jan. 6, 2014

• Don’t try to cook quinoa in the microwave.
• A GoPro (or something similar but cheaper) might be the answer to my not being able to easily take photos outside with my gloves on dilemma. Although, when looking up solutions to this problem, I realized that I can already take photos with my phone camera via voice commands, which I knew but had forgotten. I should probably try that for my hiking photos before spending money on something fancy that I probably don’t need. Although, I could use one of the wearable video cameras to potentially record some cooking escapades without the help of someone else to hold the camera. I wonder if that would work well? Hmm.
• Grape leaves come in a bottle! (Seriously, who knew this?)

Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014

• Many people (even healthy active ones) can’t fathom  walking or running when it’s freezing or snowing out. Some background on this: Back in the Fall, I spent lots of money on winter outdoor gear.  Because of that I promised myself that I’d minimally walk to and from my yoga class during the week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) regardless of the weather, plus also try some snow hikes in our woods. So far I’ve walked to yoga through 3 snowstorms and also on 2 or 3 very nippy days. Honestly, I haven’t minded it a bit. As long as I’m dressed appropriately, it’s really no big deal, and even kind of fun! Today was only about 11 degrees and windy.  My yoga classmates were surprised to see me walking (I ran a good portion actually), and one of them even offered me a ride home. (Which I of course did not accept!)
• The list of the 100 most influential health and fitness people introduced me to a lot of new sites and information to sift through. Much of it looks very interesting–some of it…not so much.

Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014

• • If you read, watch or listen to anything “new agey,” you’re probably aware of “Abraham-Hicks.” While I believe the whole channeling of “Abraham” is most likely a gimmick, I tend to agree with most of what Esther Hicks (allegedly through the channeling of  “Abraham”) tells people. The philosophy “they” espouse is very much inline with what I’ve always felt to be true. (e.g., Life is supposed to be fun.)

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014

• How to make lamb and rice stuffed grape leaves! They were truly delicious.
• I learned from Michael Neill that walking a path in life is different and generally better than following a plan, because plans tend to be disconnected from wisdom. (Yay, because I am not a fan of plans, and have always let life take me where it wants.)  Michael says to turn your guidance over to the system that’s designed to guide you.  Right on.  When I listened to a lecture of Michael’s (it’s the “thank you” when you sign up for his emails) I realized how truly brilliant this guy is, despite the fact that he calls himself and his website “Supercoach” <barf>. I highly recommend listening to that lecture. I’ve listened to it twice already and will undoubtedly  listen at least a few more times. I can’t even begin to articulate what he talks about in it, but it’s a completely new way of thinking which I know in my heart and head is a life-changer, if/when it is finally grasped.

Friday, Jan. 10, 2014

• How to make bead necklaces.
• How to make chocolate chip “cookie dough bites” using chickpeas! These came out awesome. Nobody could guess they had chickpeas in them and were completely flourless, eggless, etc. I even got my daughter Jamie (who’s pretty big on sweets and REAL cookies) to try one before telling her what was in it, and she thought they were amazing.
• I’ve gone from thinking “I’ve GOT to go to yoga tomorrow” to I GET  to go to yoga tomorrow.” Big huge difference in mindset which happened gradually and is yet one more reason for my old pals to ask “what did you do with Jill?”!

Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014

• I’m extremely impressed by the knowledge Dr. Christiane Northrop appears to have at her fingertips. I listened to an interview with her, and couldn’t believe how many others she quoted during the interview. It was a podcast and it’s possible that she had notes to reference, but either way, she obviously pays a lot of attention to what others are doing and saying and gives credit where credit is due, which I highly admire. Sadly, her website is a piece of crap with no formatting whatsoever. Things like line breaks between paragraphs shouldn’t be that difficult to muster. And why would you redirect the main blog home page to the latest blog post? Dr. Northrop, if you’re reading this (yeah right!) please hire someone to help with your website who has at least a teeny tiny clue. (Like pretty much anyone besides whomever is helping you now!)

Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014

• According to Dr. Lissa Rankin, the transition phase that I’m in right now is called “taking a leap into the unknown.” I’ll take it! (The label and the leap.)

–Jill

Jill Whalen

CONTACT JILL WHALEN to learn how she may help you be the best you can be.

Jill is the author of Victim of Thought: Seeing Through the Illusion of Anxiety

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For the past 20 years, Jill has consulted with companies big and small, and spoken at conferences all over the world. She is currently a transformational speaker and mentor to businesses, individuals, coaches, leaders, groups and organizations. She helps them uncover their natural well-being and happiness so that they can operate from a clearer state of mind and take their lives and businesses to a higher level.

Jill's blog, What Did You Do With Jill? is a personal account of what she's learned throughout her transformational journey. Jill has many "viral" articles on LinkedIn and is a contributing writer for P.S. I Love You.

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