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.]

To run or not to run…that is the question!

One morning not too long ago, I woke up and wasn’t sure if I was going to run the mile to my yoga class because I had hiked the day before. Rather than making a rational decision in the moment through my intellect, I decided to just let happen whatever happened. A few hours later when my calendar reminder popped up telling me that my class was coming up, I simply got up and got ready just as I usually do, and did the run. In fact, it turned out that rather than feeling tired from the hike, I felt stronger and faster than usual.

The thing is, I didn’t waste my time thinking about it. I just let happen whatever was going to happen without being attached to the outcome. Whether I ran to class or drove, it really didn’t matter. But had I left it to my thinking mind to decide, I would have spent countless minutes (or hours even) debating myself as to the best course of action. It probably would have gone something like:

Self 1: “That was quite a hike yesterday, are you sure you’re up for a run, PLUS yoga today? Your leg muscles feel a bit tired you know.”

Self 2: “Yeah, but you know me. If I skip one time, it’s a slippery slope to skipping another time cuz I have a hangnail or something. And then that skipping leads to another skipping, and soon I’m never running there. Or worse I’m not even going to class. And I never run again. And I start eating junk food. And I gain 25 lbs.”

Self 1: “OMG you are long past all that for goodness sakes! You’ve developed so many good, healthy habits now that are second nature to you. You’re not going to all of a sudden turn back into the old you just because you don’t run to yoga 1 fricken time!”

Self 2: “Yeah I guess you’re right, but that old lazy person could still be lingering somewhere inside me, and I don’t want to give her any opportunity to come out.”

And on and on it would probably go. Just writing the above started to give me a headache because I’m in the same boat today with whether or not to run to yoga again (in about an hour). I started to have that same conversation with myself, but remembered to just let it go and see what happens.

Think of all the time and energy this way of inspired living saves. Not only that, it is so much less stressful. Plus it keeps my mind clear and focused to do other, more important things (such as writing this blog post!).

There are so many opportunities every day to put this into action. 

When you learn to live and act through inspired thought rather than “doing” thought, it makes life so much easier. I know from experience that my inner guide is always there for me and hasn’t lead me astray yet. The times I’ve gotten myself in trouble are those times when I don’t listen to it. In the past I listened to it for the really big decisions, but never thought about listening to it for every day living until recently.

If you want to have more peace of mind (and who doesn’t?) give it a try!

Here are a few other types of decisions for which I’ve been relying more and more on inspired thought:

• What to eat for any given meal. I generally try to keep what I eat healthy, and mainly only have healthy foods at home. When I’m trying to figure out what I want for lunch, I’ll peer in at my fresh veggies and think about how my body feels about them at that given moment. I know that my body knows which nutrients it needs, so I’m getting pretty good at listening to it. It will also let me know if it’s no big deal at any particular time to eat something that might be considered somewhat less than healthy.
• What to blog about. All my topic ideas come from inspired thought. I’ll get ideas out of nowhere when taking a shower, or a run or a hike. Or I’ll read or watch something that sparks an interesting insight. In fact I get so many of these lately that the hardest part is remembering them all. I try to immediately put something into a WordPress draft to come back to later. (I think I have at least 15 of these draft posts awaiting further inspiration at the moment!)
• The writing itself. I’m pretty sure I’ve almost always written from inspired thought (even my boring ole SEO website audit reports!). I don’t think there’s any other way for me to write. I put my fingers to the keyboard and whatever comes out, comes out. I think this is why I’ve been accused of being my own biggest fan when it comes to my writing–for when I read it over later (especially if it’s a few weeks later) I am always awed that I wrote it! In fact, I’ve even been re-inspired by some posts in this blog that I forgot I wrote!

I’m sure there are many other instances of inspirational living that I’m doing (or is it not doing?!) all the time without realizing it. How about you? What are some of the things you allow your inner guide, gut, or instincts to lead you to. Or if you’re not living through inspiration right now, what are some of the areas of your life where you’d like to start doing that more?

Let me know by leaving your thoughts below. And if you found this post helpful, please be sure to share it on Facebook! –Jill

P.S. I did end up running to yoga today, but on the way home I did a mixture of running and walking. Also, just so you know, sometimes my intuition does point me in the direction of driving to the class–like when it’s just too hot and humid. Which is why I trust that it won’t push me unless I need a good pushing!

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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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