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

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Look For The Signs!

A few weeks ago I had the urge to buy new running shoes. There was nothing wrong with my current ones, but I had them for a little over a year, and figured they’d wear out eventually. I wasn’t sure how long sneakers are supposed to last when running in them fairly often, and I wanted to be sure I could still get the same make and model when I needed them. (Nike Flex 2013 if you’re interested…I love them!)

As soon as they arrived I put them in my closet to use once my current sneakers started to fall apart. Because they showed very few signs of wear and tear, I figured I still had awhile before I’d need to break out the new ones.

But then things got interesting.

The very next weekend it was surprisingly cool and not too humid, so I decided to take a run around our reservoir which I hadn’t done in a month or so. I got about 2/3 of the way around (about 2 miles) when I felt a strange burning at the arch of my right foot. I kept going, figuring whatever it was would go away. When it didn’t, I stopped and took the shoe off and felt around where it hurt to see if perhaps I had picked up a pebble or something. Nothing seemed to be there, yet it felt like I was getting a blister.

Sure enough when I got home and took a closer look, there was definitely a blister. The thing is, there didn’t seem to be any reason why a blister might suddenly occur. Unless perhaps the shoe did finally wear out and lose some of its normal support.

This made me think how lucky it was that I just happened to have purchased the new sneakers so recently.

Oops. There’s that word “lucky” again.   Back in March, I promised:

From now on, whenever I think or say, “Wow, that was lucky!” I’m going to reframe it as “Thank you Universe!” instead.

I was reminded that when lucky things or certain synchronicities happen, there’s a good chance it’s not just luck that’s involved. The thought occurred to me that perhaps it was my inner wisdom which knew the sneakers were soon to give way and I needed to be ready with a new pair so as not to miss a run.

Of course, I didn’t put much stock into that thought it as it seemed a bit far-fetched and whoo-whoo for me. And I could think of plenty of other, more logical reasons why I bought the new sneakers when I did.

However, later that day I was listening to some random spiritual videos on Youtube and one of them just so happened to mention this very thing. Not buying new sneakers before you need to, mind you, but a similar example of something occurring to someone to do, right before something else happened, to make it be a fortuitous decision.

The fact that of all the videos on Youtube for me to have listened to that day I just so happened to choose that particular one, with that particular story, gave me pause. Was it a sign? There was nothing in the title or description to suggest it’d be talking about that. And that story was only a tiny piece of what the video was about. So yes, my whoo-whoo brain deduced that it had to be a sign telling me I was correct to believe it was my inner wisdom which urged me to buy those new running shoes!

Still with me?

In pondering this more, I believe that signs and synchronicity happen all the time to all of us. It’s what some in the spiritual world call “miracles.” (Although that seems a much grander word than is befitting the buying of new shoes before they’re actually needed!)

The point is that there are always signs around us to let us know if we’re on the right track or not. Sure, we can close our eyes to them and not look or not notice. Or we can take the very easy and logical path and chalk these occurrences up to coincidences and just being lucky.

But you know what?

Life becomes a lot more fun if you believe them to be miracles!

Right?

What could be a better game to play then looking around the world for special signs both big and small that are specifically there for us?

If we’re wrong, so what?

Even if we’re just making up crazy stories and giving deeper meanings to things than they actually warrant, what’s the harm?

Sure, some may think we’re weird or have lost our minds, but again, who cares? Maybe someday those who are laughing at us now will start paying attention to their own game of life and create their own miracles.

Or maybe they won’t.

Either way, what’s stopping you right now from seeing and creating yours?

–Jill

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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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