Jill Englund Life Coaching

After my divorce, I had to learn how to mow a lawn for the first time.

At the time, it felt like a much bigger deal than mowing grass.

I bought an electric mower off Facebook Marketplace, wheeled it into my yard, and got to work.

I was nervous.

Not because mowing is particularly difficult, but because I had never done it before.

I was worried I'd mess it up.

I worried I'd look foolish.

I worried my neighbors would see how clueless I was.

As it turns out, I wasn't wrong.

The grass was too long. I wanted to bag the clippings, but nothing was going into the bag. Grass was blowing across the driveway, onto the sidewalk, and clumping throughout the yard.

And then the voice in my head got loud.

"You look like an idiot."

"Your neighbors are probably watching this disaster."

"You have no idea what you're doing, and it shows."

What surprised me wasn't that I had those thoughts.

I've been a life coach for over five years. I know we all have an inner critic.

What surprised me was how quickly and harshly that voice showed up when I felt vulnerable.

Then something shifted. Years of inner work kicked-in, and I caught myself.

I asked:

"What outcome is this kind of self-talk going to create?"

I was already nervous. Why was I making it harder?

So I chose a different response.

I reminded myself that vulnerability is normal when we're learning something new.

That courage doesn't look like confidence—it looks like showing up anyway.

That I was a competent, capable woman figuring something out for the very first time.

I lifted my chin, kept mowing, and finished my yard.

Was it perfect?

Not even close.

Did I struggle?

Absolutely.

Did I figure it out?

Yes.

And every time I've mowed since, it's gotten easier.

Today, I actually enjoy it.

Not because I became an expert lawn mower, but because that experience reinforced something important:

Trusting yourself isn't believing you'll do everything perfectly.

It's believing you'll figure it out, even when you don't know what you're doing yet.

Sometimes growth looks like profound breakthroughs.

And sometimes it looks like mowing your lawn while trying not to launch grass across the neighborhood.

One of the biggest misconceptions about personal growth is that if you just find the right routine, planner, or morning habit, everything else will fall into place.

Those things can absolutely be helpful.

But they don't create lasting change on their own.

Because behavior is a symptom.

The relationship you have with yourself is the root.

If you believe your worth depends on your performance...

You'll keep chasing the next achievement.

If you believe resting means you're falling behind...

You'll struggle to slow down.

If you believe disappointing someone makes you a bad person...

You'll continue saying yes when your heart is saying no.

That's why the work I do isn't about helping people become more productive.

It's about helping them reconnect with themselves.

When that happens, healthier habits aren't forced.

They become a natural reflection of who that person is becoming.

That's what it means to me to come home to yourself.

Not perfection.

Not performance.

Just the freedom to build a life that feels like yours.

Which belief about yourself has taken the longest to unlearn?

Last week, I shared the story of my son turning onto a busy road for the first time.

This week, we drove home from the dealership after buying his very first car.

I was in my own vehicle, glancing into the rearview mirror every few seconds, watching him follow behind me on the interstate.

It struck me that this was likely the only time our paths would ever look like this.

Two cars.

Two drivers.

Still traveling the same road.

As I watched him in my mirror, I wasn't thinking about his driving.

I was thinking about everything it had taken to get here.

The hesitant teenager who once said, "I'm not ready."

The countless hours of practice.

The moments of uncertainty.

The growing confidence that only comes from doing something before you fully believe you can.

And then another realization settled in.

This journey wasn't only changing him.

It was changing me.

Parenting has never been just about raising children.

It's about raising ourselves alongside them.

Every season asks us to loosen our grip a little more.

To trade certainty for trust.

To let go without letting go of our love.

As parents, we spend years teaching our children how to navigate the world.

Then, little by little, we have to trust them to do it without US.

That's both beautiful...

and heartbreaking.

But I don't think this lesson belongs only to parents.

Life asks all of us to release old versions of ourselves.

To step into unfamiliar territory before we feel completely prepared.

To trust what we've practiced instead of waiting until fear disappears.

We spend so much of our lives believing confidence comes first.

I've found the opposite is true.

Confidence is usually the reward for courage.

Not the prerequisite.

So here we are.

One new driver.

One learning mom.

Both discovering that growth isn't about holding on tighter.

It's about trusting ourselves enough to keep moving forward.

❤️ Congratulations on your first car, Caden. I'll always be cheering you on-even from a different lane.

- Jil Englund | Life Coach

A heartfelt thank you to a past client for sharing this photo with me as he stepped into a new chapter of his journey.

From the outside, everything looks great.

You're accomplishing goals.

People trust you.

You're dependable.

You keep showing up.

So why does life still feel...heavy?

One reason may be that you've become incredibly skilled at performing.

Performing the role of the leader.

The caregiver.

The achiever.

The reliable one.

The problem is that when we spend years becoming who everyone else needs us to be, we can slowly lose sight of who we are.

That's why I don't believe real transformation starts with changing your behavior.

It starts by exploring the beliefs you've been carrying about your worth.

Because when your identity shifts...

You don't have to force confidence.

You don't have to pretend to have boundaries.

You don't have to convince yourself you're enough.

Those things begin to grow naturally from a healthier relationship with yourself.

The goal isn't to become a different person.

It's to come home to the person you've always been.

Have you ever caught yourself living according to expectations that no longer fit who you are?

Come Home to Yourself.

— Jill

I was driving 65 miles per hour on the interstate this week.

Behind me, in a separate vehicle, was my 16-year-old son.

Driving his own car.

For the very first time.

The tears came unexpectedly.

Because just one year ago, we were sitting at the edge of our neighborhood.

He had mastered parking lots and quiet streets, but now it was time to turn onto a busy road.

"No, Mom...I'm not ready," he pleaded.

I paused for a moment.

I understood his fear.

But I also knew something he couldn't yet see.

Growth was waiting on the other side of that left turn.

I smiled and said, "Sometimes mama birds have to kick their baby birds out of the nest. When you're ready, take a left."

He did.

His hands gripped the steering wheel.

His heart was racing.

Mine probably was too.

We drove just three blocks before turning back into the neighborhood.

It wasn't a long drive.

But it changed something.

That was the day he stopped letting fear make his decisions.

Over the next several months, he put in the hours.

He practiced.

He learned.

He made mistakes.

He gained confidence.

He passed his driver's test.

And this week, we bought him his first car.

As I watched him safely follow me home from the dealership, my heart filled with gratitude...

because I got to witness what happens when someone chooses courage over certainty.

The truth is, very few of us ever feel ready for the next challenge.

We become ready by taking the turn anyway.

❤️ Congratulations on your first car, Caden. Watching you grow into the young man you are becoming is one of the greatest privileges of my life.

— Mama Bird | Life Coach

Come Home To Yourself. Build A Life That Feels Like You.

One of my clients recently shared something that stopped me in my tracks:

"He reminded me that my worth isn't tied to my performance."

That sentence captures so much of the work we did together.

When we first started working together, he was successful by most people's standards. He was a thoughtful leader, deeply committed to his work, and someone others could count on.

But underneath all of that was a quiet belief that many high achievers carry:

I have to keep proving my worth.

That belief fueled perfectionism, made it difficult to recover from setbacks, and kept him from experiencing the peace he was working so hard to create.

Through my Roots of Authenticity program, we didn't just work on habits or goals.

We explored the beliefs beneath the behaviors.

He learned to respond instead of react, practice self-compassion instead of self-criticism, and lead from a place of authenticity instead of pressure. As his relationship with himself changed, so did the way he showed up at work, with his family, and in his everyday life.

That's the transformation I'm passionate about.

Because lasting change doesn't come from becoming someone new.

It comes from coming home to yourself.

If you're tired of measuring your value by what you accomplish and you're ready to build a life that feels like yours, I'd love to walk alongside you.

— Jill Englund | Life Coach

Authenticity has become one of those words we hear everywhere.

But I don't think authenticity means saying whatever you want or living without responsibilities.

To me, authenticity is quieter than that.

It's knowing what matters most to you.

It's recognizing when you've been living according to expectations that no longer fit.

It's learning to make decisions that align with your values instead of your fears.

It's allowing yourself to evolve without apologizing for it.

This work isn't always comfortable.

Sometimes it asks us to let go of identities we've worked hard to build.

But on the other side is something many people haven't experienced in years:
Peace.

Not because life suddenly becomes easy.

Because your life finally begins to feel like yours.

That's the kind of transformation I'm passionate about helping people create.

Because everyone deserves a life that feels authentic—not just impressive.

People sometimes assume I became a life coach because I always had life figured out.

The truth is almost the opposite.

At nine years old, I was diagnosed with bone cancer.

My treatment included over one year of chemotherapy and the amputation of my leg.

That experience taught me resilience.

But it wasn't the hardest lesson of my life.

Years later, I found myself doing what so many people do.

Taking care of everyone else.

Meeting expectations.

Keeping everything together.

In all of this hustle, I lost connection with myself.

The healing that changed my life wasn't about becoming stronger.

It was about becoming more honest.

Learning to recognize my values.

Trust my own voice.

Set healthier boundaries.

Build a life that reflected who I truly am—not who I thought I needed to be.

That's why I do this work today.

Not because I have all the answers.

But because I've experienced what it feels like to lose yourself—and what it takes to find your way back.

If my story encourages even one person to believe that change is possible, it's worth sharing.

People sometimes assume I became a life coach because I always had life figured out. The truth is almost the opposite. At nine years old, I was diagnosed with bone cancer. My treatment included over one year of chemotherapy and the amputation of my leg. That experience taught me resilience. But it wasn't the hardest lesson of my life. Years later, I found myself doing what so many people do. Taking care of everyone else. Meeting expectations. Keeping everything together. In all of this hustle, I lost connection with myself. The healing that changed my life wasn't about becoming stronger. It was about becoming more honest. Learning to recognize my values. Trust my own voice. Set healthier boundaries. Build a life that reflected who I truly am—not who I thought I needed to be. That's why I do this work today. Not because I have all the answers. But because I've experienced what it feels like to lose yourself—and what it takes to find your way back. If my story encourages even one person to believe that change is possible, it's worth sharing.