S2E12: Life Without Secrets - a Powerful Journey of Healing and Connection with Jillian Riddell
Join us for an inspiring episode of Pain to Passion Live as my friend Jillian Riddell opens up about her transformative personal journey.
From discovering a shocking secret at a young age to overcoming challenges as a teenage mother, Jillian's story is a testament to resilience and the pursuit of healing and self-worth. You will be so inspired as you hear Jill share how she confronted her deepest wounds, embraced therapy, and found healing through authenticity.
In this episode, you will also learn how Jillian's experiences as an ER trauma nurse inspired her to create the Life Without Secrets podcast, a platform for authentic conversations and self-discovery. Explore the transformative power of self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-compassion in forging meaningful connections and breaking free from the past.
More about Jill:
Jillian Riddell is a former teen mom turned Valedictorian and current certified leading expert in trauma and emergency nursing, She is highly regarded by those needing hope when obstacles seem too great to overcome. Her insights have been honored by the Daisy Foundation and featured on ABCnews. Being a trauma nurse and podcast host of Life Without Secrets with Jillian Riddell, she understands our basic human needs to love and to belong. As someone who lived her entire childhood as a secret, Jillian is on a mission to help people feel more connected by diving deep, getting real, and growing together.
Connect with Jill:
Instagram - @lifewithoutsecretspodcast
Podcast - Life Without Secrets with Jillian Riddell
Connect with Gabi:
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Website - gabiruth.com
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(TRANSCRIPT) S2E12: Life Without Secrets - A Powerful Journey of Healing and Connection with Jillian Riddell
Note: Transcript is created by AI. Please excuse any errors.
Gabi: [00:00:00] Hey, beautiful people. Welcome back to Pain to Passion Live. I hope you're all doing amazing. I'm so excited to introduce you to one of my most amazing gal pals. Today, is that like so cheesy? Say gal pals.
Jillian: I love that.
Gabi: But anyway, she's amazing. Her name is Jill. Riddle or is it Riddell? Riddell. Riddell.
Riddell. I never asked her that before. So now I know. But she is wonderful. We are in Amberley Lagos Unstoppable Life Mastermind together and it's been so fun getting to know Jill over the past, I guess it's been like. 10 months or so now. Um, she has a top podcast herself, which I will have her tell you about because it's so, so good, but she has such a bright, joyful, amazing spirit.
And she's all about relationships and connection and [00:01:00] all of those things that I just love. And she has some amazing stories. So I wanted to make sure to get her on here and introduce you guys today. So thank you for being here, Jill.
Jillian: Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for having me on. I have so enjoyed the last 10 months with being with all of you ladies.
And I feel like we're all just growing together and it's such a beautiful thing to be able to have a group of women to connect on, not just like an achievement level, right? Because when we just focus on that, we can, you know, steer in the wrong direction, but we are all like connecting on a deeper level.
We get vulnerable with each other. We share our and, you know, That's where the beauty lies. I think it has been such a beautiful gift.
Gabi: I absolutely agree. So tell us a little bit about yourself. I don't usually read bios on the show. Cause I love to hear what different people say about themselves. It can be quite juicy.
So juicy bits you'd like to share with us. [00:02:00] We would love to hear.
Jillian: I'm like, where do I start? I got all the juice over here. Um, this is the life without secrets. No. Um, Well, I guess I'll start, um, we can start with like life without secrets. Why, why, what is that about? Right? Like people are like, is that like, are you going to tell me your deepest, darkest secrets and everybody else's?
No, not, not really. Um, life without secrets is there's two reasons. So when I was growing up, I was actually a secret until I was and like, what does that mean? Right. Well, my dad, um, met my mom. And at a bar and they started dating and my mom ends up pregnant and she tells my dad and he says, oops, sorry, I'm married.
And so instead of him telling his family about me, they decide that I'm just going to be kept a secret. [00:03:00] And so he has this whole other family in a different state that I live in, and he was a truck driver. And so I got to see him like once a year when he'd come for like the San Francisco auto show or something like that, because he, um, was always traveling and hauling cars.
So. I saw him about once a year and I absolutely put him on a pedestal. You know, I talked to him on the phone and stuff. Uh, and it wasn't until I was an 11 that I actually realized I was a secret. So I was getting really angry, having huge outbursts. I feel like 11 is right where that tender age where we start having all these emotions come up, we're going through puberty and we're like, we get all these emotions.
We have no idea what to do with them. So they just come out and like, Anger or depression or, you know, different things for people, different people. Well, for me, it was anger. And so my mom takes me to this therapist and she's like, these people don't know about her. [00:04:00] And she's like, no. So right then and there the therapist makes my mother tell me that actually these people have no idea exist.
And before that, I would go around telling everybody like, Oh, I have seven brothers and one sister because I had three on my mom's side. And then I had four brothers and one sister on my dad's side, not knowing that they didn't know about me. And so you would think like, Oh, okay, it's all going to come out in the open.
Like I'm a secret, but okay, I don't have to be anymore. That's not what happened. Oh my gosh. So because I knew I was a secret, I was well, I had, I was able to go with him in his truck from that point on, and I would go on these commercial shoots for Toyota or Chevy, and we would go for like a week or two and go on these adventures in his truck together.
Well, then his wife would call and he never really asked me to be quiet or anything like that. But I knew like in, like, I just had this energy, right? Where I like, I wanted to protect my dad and I didn't want to, I always wanted to [00:05:00] earn his love. Right? Like that's all we want is other people's love. And so I would be really quiet.
I'd be like afraid to chew the gum in my mouth and I would just sit there and like be super quiet and wait for him to get off the phone. And as I got older and older. I found myself just looking for love in all the wrong places. Cause all I wanted was that consistent love, especially from a man. And I never felt like I was receiving that.
Like I was always just like this other child. Yeah. And. That created a deep wound for me, and I was always questioning whether I mattered or not. And so it's interesting because what I found, you know, later on in life when I've examined this and gone through therapy is like, when I was looking for love in all the wrong places, I, all I wanted was [00:06:00] to really love somebody.
And have somebody love me back. Well, I ended up getting pregnant at 17 and I had my son when I was 18 and it was like a switch in there and I was gonna make myself matter somehow because now I had a child and I needed to show him that he matters. And so I have to matter somehow. And so what I've learned is that when we have those feelings, what we try to do is put band aids over them with our achievements or addictions, right?
If we have internal wounds, we try to put them With a band aid, we try to cover those and, and that's our way of trying to heal them. And so what I did when I was 18, had a baby was still like looking for love, but felt this complete love with this baby I had. [00:07:00] And I was just on a mission to matter. And so I got really good at achieving.
And so I had a teacher like, Oh man, you had so much potential. And I was like, I'm going to show this teacher. Like I still got potential and the statistics are like 2% of teen moms earn a college degree by their time. They're 30. And I'm like, you know what? Like I'm going to beat that. And so I was valedictorian of my college and I was, you know, just.
And I was like, I'm, I'm going to matter. Well, I meet my husband and we get married. And it's funny because we can put these band aids over our bullet holes. Right. And like, it feels okay for a little while the band aid kind of works and then. We noticed that these internal wounds we have that like the Band Aid is not going to help for these bullet holes that that Band Aid is not going to [00:08:00] fix the bullet hole inside.
They don't work. And so that feeling and the, I don't matter the unworthiness, the loneliness, you know, all of these things that we're trying to cover up and, and fix. They end up creeping out in any area of our lives. So for me, it was when I got married, I was always assessing whether I mattered the most to my husband more than anything else.
So he worked hard at his job. It was, oh, I don't matter if he didn't communicate something. It was, oh, I don't matter. And I didn't have the tools to be able to really talk about this or communicate it. And so it just kind of festered in our relationship and I like to call them grief cases. So these were the things in my grief case, right?
I had this, I was a secret until I was 18. I had a baby when I was 18, I was trying to achieve so [00:09:00] I could feel like I mattered. I meet my husband. I'm like, Oh, he loves me, but he's got to keep proving it. And I've got this grief case. It just keeps getting fuller and fuller with all this stuff that I've never really unpacked.
And then, you know, my husband shows up, he's got his own grief case. You know, he's got his own traumas. Like nobody's perfect. And so we, what we do in relationships is we say here. Carry mine too. Right. And in the beginning of relationships, you're, you're like a superhero, right? You're like, Oh yeah, let me take that for you.
I'll hold it. Right. And then pretty soon it just gets heavier and heavier and heavier. And eventually it just like bursts open. It's like a tornado, right? It's like the bullet hole. That is that band aid does not hold very long and you're just and it's all over the place. And so it's just interesting because unless we start getting to the core of the wound of where it [00:10:00] starts, we're not going to heal.
We're not going to experience those deeper connections that we're all really craving. And so that's where life without secrets comes in. So I am an ER trauma nurse. Yeah. And I love trauma. I love feeling like I matter, right? Because I can not just put a bandaid over a bullet hole. I can like fix it in that moment.
But it's interesting because I'm never getting to the core of that person to change their life. So that doesn't happen again. The reason why they ended up in that trauma room or the reason why they ended up in the emergency room or why we have so many, what we call frequent flyers. It's, it's, it's not a, it's not a problem that we can fix in a two hour emergency room visit.
You know, sure. I can fix you up and, you know, [00:11:00] hopefully send you home. Hopefully you'll go home, but that doesn't get to the core of where the real change needs to happen in our lives. And I think that we're all really just craving connection to each other, to ourselves. And that's why I started my podcast life without secrets was for me, it was filling that gap.
It was filling that gap that there was a difference between what the work I do in the ER and where we're trying to get to the core and sure I can restart your heart in the ER, hopefully. But did you know that 50% of heart attacks, the research is showing are emotionally related. Wow. That they come from stress and emotions that are not being dealt with.
Wow. 50%. That's crazy. And so, yeah, I can tell you like eat healthy and, you know, exercise, but if we're not getting to the core of our issues [00:12:00] of the, the things that are eating us up inside, I'm, we're not fixing the problem like in the world. Yeah. And so this was kind of my, my way of digging deeper. Of getting to the core of people and you know, it's when we live a life without secrets, it means that we start asking ourselves the deeper questions when, when we find our own truth and it's sitting with that pain.
And that's what I had to do in order to get to where I am now. You know, when, when my husband and I, our grief cases went all over the floor, you know, we could have walked away, you know, and then we would have had that same grief case and carried it somewhere else. But thankfully we were both willing to sit in it.
And we got some help. We paid a mortgage payment [00:13:00] in therapy, but I can tell you now it was worth it. Um, but when we really dove deep and we started asking ourselves the deeper questions, like, how are we really, how am I really, you know, have I ever felt this way before? Is it something related to my past and is it showing up here too?
And once we can really go into the truth and sit in that, then we can really understand where our emotions are coming from, which then contribute to our thoughts, right? And so if we're not taking the time to really live in our truth, to ask ourselves the deeper questions, to be curious. To find, you know, where, where, what is our values?
What, what do we believe? Who am I really when we don't have [00:14:00] self awareness? Self reflection and then self compassion because we're all going to make mistakes. That's part of life. That's part of being a human being like negative emotions and positive emotions. They both make you a human being. They're both okay, but it's, we don't get to sit in them and let it, let them dictate our life.
We get to get curious about them and then let them grow us from there. And so I feel like going through that process has really restarted my own heart and given me this new, like, passion and, like, people ask me all the time, like, do you talk to your dad? Like, after all that? And I'm like, yeah, actually, we have a good relationship.
And I'll tell you why. It's because I've done the work. Yeah. And I know that what he did had nothing to do with who I am. Yes. And I [00:15:00] also know. That I am who I am because of what I've been through and I've been through enough work to really feel like I like the person I am and who I'm becoming and we, when we can actually say that and show up and be like, I'm, I'm learning, I'm growing.
I'm open to all of that. And yes, like every day is not, you know, peachy. Let me tell you, but like, when we can sit in those and be okay with that. There's so much beauty and life there, you know, like I know, like I think back and I'm like, if I would have had to go to his house every summer or every Christmas, I, I would be a totally different person because I'd be, I'd be raised differently.
I wouldn't have gone through what I've gone through. I wouldn't be me. And so once we can really dive into our truth and start to really love ourselves and love who we're becoming, then it doesn't [00:16:00] matter what happened. Right. Because those things I can be almost, it's I'm grateful for them. If I'm being honest, like I feel grateful for what I've been through at this point in my life, because I've reached a point where I like me.
I like, I like who I am. I'm not perfect, but I'm willing to like, Be curious about how I feel. And now that I know how I feel about things and I'm able to verbalize it, it opens myself up to building deeper connections with other people. And so when I can be vulnerable because I know my truth and I know who I am and that even if I'm rejected, I still know who I am at my core, that that doesn't hurt me because not everybody's for us.
That's just the way life goes, but when we can be vulnerable with ourselves and then bring that vulnerability to others, it gives others permission to be vulnerable too. And that creates this safe place [00:17:00] where we can both be seen and loved and know we belong, which is our basic human needs. Yeah. And so I know that was like the, probably the longest, um, the longest description ever.
Gabi: No, that was so good. Like you're speaking my language. Right.
Jillian: I know. Right. But it's the truth. Right. And it's, you know, I could, I could, I've been asked to like, Oh, teach this cardiology class or, you know, the heart system and stuff. And I'm like, we can read a book on that. But like, This is where the stuff really matters because if we don't fix the internal, everything else doesn't matter.
So true. Mm hmm. So, so true. So, I, that is really. The core of who I am. I think like all of those [00:18:00] things make me who I am. And I'm, I'm grateful for that.
Gabi: Yeah, I love it. I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for sharing all of that. Um, I think like you offer so much hope because you experienced something that was really viscerally rejection, honestly.
Yep. Um, at such a young age, To discover that you were a secret to someone that was one of the most important people in your life in your whole world. Yeah. Um, that's traumatic. Yeah. So traumatic. And you could have. Become someone. So the opposite of who you are right now, which I think is why it's so hopeful talking with you because you can see that regardless of the kind of [00:19:00] shame you're put off that's put on you or rejection that you experienced.
That you can learn to truly love yourself and not only love yourself, but also appreciate your story.
Jillian: Yeah. And you know, it's funny. It's like, I feel like I've gotten better and better at rejection. And that sounds bad, but it's actually good because like people are going to reject us everywhere we go.
That's just our human nature. Like, you know, it's fine. Um, I wish that we could all live in truth. So that we didn't have to experience that because I think, you know, when someone rejects you, it has nothing to do with you. In my opinion, it just happens to do with wounds that maybe they haven't, you know, dealt with because I love just loving people freely, like seeing them where they're at and just being able to be like, it's okay.
Like I see you, you're it's, you can be you. And, you know, even if we don't [00:20:00] align on all of our beliefs and whatnot, I can still love you for you. And, you know, I think that the rejection really just has to do with wounds that people haven't dealt with in themselves. And because, and I say I gotten, I have gotten good at it because yes, it was a core, a core wound for me, absolutely.
And I'll tell you what, being a teen mom. Didn't help. I bet. Yeah. And that was really the time where I had to sit in it too, because I no longer could relate to people my age, you know, the things that they could go off and do, like that was no longer a part of my life. And so I felt like I had a lot of trouble fitting in and feeling like, where do I belong?
And I think that's why. You know, going back to the beginning of our conversation, like our group that we [00:21:00] have is really cool because we're, we're all really living. You know, we all kind of align together and it's like this power group where, you know, and we can be vulnerable and like we're, we're all kind of different in our own ways too, which I think makes it even more beautiful because like nobody's really like exactly alike.
We're all our own people, but we can all like love and support each other in our own journeys. And that's what life's about. I think that is just the best thing ever. And I think. My favorite thing is like, just, we all feel this sense of belonging there. Yeah. Right. And like, I think that that's all what we're really craving.
Like we are all really craving that sense of belonging. And so I think that we're all doing this work to figure out like what our, what our own paths are. And it's been a process of like getting [00:22:00] stuff out. You know, and like, we, we do deep stuff and getting it out, sharing it with the world part of it.
Right. Like being on a stage and having to share that with the world, you know, and, and it feels like a weight gets lifted off your shoulders when you get to experience that. Right. And so I think the podcast too, is like a platform where it's like, let's. Let's talk about that major setback in your life.
Like let's open it up and take that weight off your shoulder and just let your heart and in your body breathe, you know, and it's feels so good. I remember my first, my first episode, and I'm sure you can relate to this. Um, it's a little nerve wracking when you first start, right. And you're like, I'm about to tell like my secret life over here that these people don't know.
Yeah. And then I remember hitting record and being nervous and I actually [00:23:00] wrote mine out cause I was just like too nervous to say it without writing it down. And so I, I did it on my, one of my first episodes. And then after I stopped recording, it felt like, wow, that felt really good. Yeah. You know, like I just did that and, and, you know, I hope that helps somebody else because I feel really good doing that.
Yeah. You know, and so I, I love hearing other people's stories and what it was that helped them restart their heart. And, you know, for me, I think it was a bunch of different things. I think it was, you know, for me, it was diving deep. Like I said, just diving deep into the truth and really taking the time to sit in that stuff.
So that I could connect with people on a deeper level was, which is what I really wanted. I wanted that connection, um, that I never felt like I had on that core level growing up, like you're [00:24:00] saying. And so I think it's different for everybody. Sometimes, you know, it's just releasing our control of a situation and just surrendering to whatever is coming your way and being okay with it.
You know, sometimes that's what we have to do to restart our heart and, and move on to our future. And I, so coming up, what I'm trying to do is I want to, I'm, I'm writing a book. And so my, my podcast is gonna, it's basically the going to be the same, but I, my lens is going to be through the eyes of like, Let's talk about that major thing in your life.
And then I want to know, like how you restarted your heart and became this today. Like so cool. Was it connection? Was it surrender? Was it, what was it, you know? And I, and that's going to be part of my research for the book that I'm going to do. Oh [00:25:00] my gosh. I can't wait. So I'm, I'm super excited about it.
Gabi: I love that so much.
Jillian: Yeah. So it'll, it'll be fun. Um, I I'm, I'm, I'm very excited. I, I just, I want people to know, you know, that it doesn't want nobody's special, you know, on the other side, it's just doing the work. Yeah. Absolutely.
Gabi: So I have on this wrist, I have the tattoo freedom.
Jillian: Oh, I love that.
Gabi: And I got it, I think 11 years ago.
And I didn't really understand what that was going to mean to me. It's been such an evolution over the past decade of figuring out what that means. And so three weeks ago, you can't see it right now because I have a jacket on, but I got a tattoo right here, like inside my elbow, tell the truth. And just what you were just saying about how you felt that weight lift off of you when you shared your story.
It's so, so true. Yeah, [00:26:00] that the truth sets you free. Yes. And we often resist telling the truth about what we consider to be the dark or shameful or scary pieces for fear of rejection or. Feeling guilty or shame or any of those things, but as you have just so beautifully put when you tell the truth about your story, you actually experience freedom.
And I am so all about that. It's such a beautiful, um, feeling and something that we've been able to witness also, like you said, with each other, just. You know what? It's okay to tell the truth. And if there are people around you who are not okay with you telling the truth, then they're not your people. And that's also okay.
Jillian: Yeah. I love that.
Gabi: It's such a great, healthy, beautiful place to get to. And I just love how you exemplify that so much with your own story and just with the stories you share with [00:27:00] others. It's like, I'm all about this. Like telling the truth about the story is so, so important. And we hide. All the time, like what would you say to someone who right now is feeling like, okay, I know I need to tell my story to someone somewhere because I've never spoken it out before, but I'm scared.
What, what are some practical tips that you would give to that person who wants to start speaking the truth for the first time.
Jillian: I would first, I would write it down. I think writing it down is really helpful because it almost feels like you're getting it out, but you're not necessarily telling someone.
And then when you start writing it out, ask yourself like questions as you're going, well, why did this make me feel this way? Yeah. Is there a pattern in my life? Did I feel this way later on in life? Was it related to my past or is it a part of [00:28:00] my future? And what story do I want to tell myself about this?
Is this, is this serving me right? Like I could become a different person and be like, well, I was a secret. I don't matter. And I could just carry that, continue to carry that. And every relationship that I have in my podcast, you know, I could say, Oh, I'm not where I want to be because I don't matter to people.
Yeah. Like we could, we could continue to make that story up in our head for the rest of our life. Or we could say like, is that the truth? Right. Or am I just telling myself that because it's, it's connecting to the wound I have deeper, the, the, I don't matter. That really starts with the core. And then I would, I would get somebody like.
We all really want to connect on a deeper level. And so I think more people than we think are willing to listen and are willing to step [00:29:00] aside of us on our journey. If we just get vulnerable, because it's, it's, it's literally a basic human need is just to connect and we can't connect if we're not being truthful, because then there's, if we're not being truthful, it's a barrier.
There's a barrier and you're not going to reach that deeper connection that you strive for unless you remove the barrier and just be truthful. So true. And it doesn't mean we have to go share our dirty little secrets to everybody, right? Like that is not, that is called trying to seek external validation and that's not what this is about.
This is internally validating. And so it's not about the other person, but connection is also where we find belonging and freedom. So We do. We need those people in our lives. We need to show up. Like this isn't, we live in such a social [00:30:00] media world, right? Where it's like, let me show you my perfect life.
We're all guilty of it. But like, whatever, that's fine. But have those people in your life. It's so important to share those things with, to feel like, no matter what you mistake you've made, people are still going to accept you. Like we're all human beings. We all make mistakes. Yes. And we all matter and we're all human beings that want to belong and we can, like, I'm here to accept you.
Like I'm here to be that person if you don't have one.
Gabi: Oh, I love that about you. It's so true. You're so great at connecting with people and building community and I know that it's because of all the work that you've done to really accept yourself. Yeah, can we truly feel. Deeply safe and accepted by someone else.
If we don't really [00:31:00] feel safe and accepted by ourselves.
Jillian: Yes. Which is why that's so number one, the connection is first with ourself. Always. We have to connect with ourself on that deeper level before we can, because you know, it's also happens is if we don't connect with ourself first, we will even start taking that reaction and start making it up in our head.
Like, Oh, they didn't smile. So they probably did not like what I say and that they're rejecting me, but they're not, they're not doing that at all. We just made that up in our head because we didn't connect with ourself first before we showed up. So true. Isn't that so true? And then the other person's like, well, I don't know what happened to her.
Like she, she got upset with me, you know, and we started. Yes. So connecting with ourself first is always number one before we can really connect with other people. But in that process, find somebody that you can get vulnerable with. I think that's so important. I agree. Whether that's a therapist [00:32:00] or a friend or a family member or your neighbor.
I don't care. Like somebody that you can feel safe with in order to get it out. Yes.
Gabi: So, so, so healthy to be able to do that for sure. And definitely writing it down first will even help with that because it'll break down the barrier between you and you.
Jillian: Yes. And it's true. It's so true though, isn't that crazy?
Like how there really can be a barrier between you and you, it is. It's so true. There is. And that's why we have to dive deep and ask ourselves this, but you literally have to ask yourself those questions as you're writing. Like, is this the truth? Is this, you know, where is this really coming from? Like we have to be open and honest with ourselves first.
It's so true.
Gabi: Yeah. And I can find that I'll ruminate on thoughts of like, this is what this means. When, when this is happening, this is what this means. And I'll [00:33:00] think about it in that way where it becomes so concrete. It means this negative thing. But then when I write it down and I see it in words, I'm like, that's ridiculous.
There's no way it means what I've
been making it mean. When I see it on paper. That's been huge for me to kind of break down that barrier between myself and myself. It's like actually verbalizing in real words, not just thoughts and feelings, the experience that I'm having, I've seen clearly.
Jillian: I agree. And I think self reflection is the avenue to experience self acceptance and self compassion.
Gabi: Ooh, that was profound. I need that on my wall.
Jillian: It's true though. We have to reflect. Yeah. Mm hmm. And, and then it's so, it's, it's such a good feeling afterwards too, because I feel like now I look at things differently [00:34:00] and I let what's for me come and, you know, I don't compare my journey to other people's, I, I just live in me and what feels good.
And I know that what is for me will come my way and I just keep doing the work and knowing that. I am where I'm supposed to be. And it's kind of like, it feels good to just surrender to that. Instead of trying to always be on and trying to create something that's not there and always like spinning in a circle, you know?
And I think a lot of people, a lot of people do that. You know, I think a lot of people it's like, we're always comparing ourselves to somebody else, especially with social media, I think. And Once we just can let that go and just run our own race or walk it, if you want, you know, like whatever you can bike it, you can jog it, but it's yours.
[00:35:00] And I think like, if my word this year, because, you know, this has been, um, I started this podcast back in November. I'd been working on it since last May, but. I knew that this year was going to be a shift for me and I have a tendency because that's how I've done my whole life is to start achieving in order to like band aid myself if I have a feeling, a negative feeling.
And so I had a feeling that like, because there's going to be a shift, right? Because once we. Overcome something like there's something around the corner always. It's not like we overcome something and then we're good for the rest of our lives. And so I knew there'd be a shift and it would start bringing up feelings and questioning myself.
And so this year I chose the word embrace because I wanted to. Embrace like anything that was coming and enjoy my journey. I didn't want to just achieve. I wanted to embrace where I was and [00:36:00] the journey that I'm on, because that's really what it's about. Oh, beautiful.
Gabi: It's so good. I love it. Thank you, Jill.
Jillian: I miss you.
Gabi: I miss you too. Yes, we all need to get together again soon.
Jillian: Okay. Yes, actually, she said something about fall. I need to, we need to call her and be like, Hey, when's this fall thing happening? Because we are, we are game. We're there.
Gabi: Yes, 100%. Yes, absolutely. And you and I are both West coast girls too.
So we should just, you know, meet each other somewhere.
Jillian: Yeah. Where are you? I mean, yeah, Washington. Yeah. Yeah. We're not that far. No, it's totally doable. It's totally doable. We need to, make that happen. Let's do it. Absolutely.
Gabi: Coffee day in Portland.
Jillian: Hey, that would work. That would work. That's in the middle.
Let's do it.
Gabi: All right. You're wonderful. Thank you for [00:37:00] sharing all of this today. Um, I know that the listeners are going to get tons out of this and feel so encouraged. You're such a breath of fresh air. I'm so encouraging. Um, I want to make sure that everyone is able to connect with you. So can you let us know what the best ways are for people to connect with you right now?
Jillian: Sure. Um, so I'm on Instagram at life without secrets podcast. Cause my name got taken from me back in November and they never got it back. Um, and so it's life without secrets podcast. And then the podcast is called life without secrets. So it's pretty easy.
Gabi: Awesome. And I'll make sure to include all of that in the show notes as well.
So if you're listening and you want to connect with Jill, you can just click on those links and connect with her. You will not regret it. Her podcast is wonderful. Um, you will love it. So go subscribe, rate the podcast, review it. I love you and [00:38:00] enjoy. All of her amazing guests and everyone that she has, she asks great questions, and it's just a lot of fun to listen to.
So thank you, Jill. You're wonderful. I'm so glad you got to do this. And is there anything you wanted to share before I let you go? Anything?
Jillian: I think that's it. I just, I love and appreciate you. I love your vulnerability that you share on here as well and what you bring to the table. It's beautiful. And you're also really good at teaching and don't you have a course coming up?
Gabi: You're so cute.
Jillian: No, seriously.
Gabi: No, I just launched a course. It's a one on one. Um, so I have a few spots available right now called pain to passion, 12 week coaching. So, yeah.
Jillian: And I have heard her teach and you are an amazing teacher. Like you make things really easy to understand, like, you know, and sometimes when you have like a medical brain too, you know, it can be a little bit harder to break down things and you break things [00:39:00] down so beautifully.
So it's easy, easy to take home, easy to understand and easy to apply to your life. So. I think people should go check that out as well.
Gabi: I did not pay her to say this.
Jillian: She sure did not. No, I just know the truth here. This is life without secrets.
Gabi: You're so sweet. Well, thank you friend. I will talk to you soon.
Jillian: All right.
Amazing. Love you. Love you.
Bye.