Hi, I’m Jill Winski (she/her). I help sensitive people who are feeling stuck, vulnerable or overwhelmed take better care of themselves so they can move forward with their creative work and feel more connected to the world.

I believe that self-care and creativity go hand-in-hand. You can’t truly have a healthy relationship with your creativity if you don’t have one with yourself.

It starts with you.

My true work has been to help myself be more of who I am (and let go of who I’m not) so I can inhabit my life more fully. In my coach role, I help my clients do this as well.

My struggles with chronic fatigue, high sensitivity, and creative identity led me to discover the writing of Martha Beck, and to go through life coach training with her. This was an amazing process. I am a Certified Martha Beck Coach, and I love helping others through their own struggles with creativity, sensitivity, and identity. More recently, I became a Certified Integrative Health Coach through Duke Integrative Medicine.

My work as a domestic violence counselor years ago sparked both understanding and questions about social and racial injustice and privilege, and I continue to stay open to understanding and commit to living in an anti-racist way. I am always learning (and I make lots of mistakes).

My experience with chronic illness as a young woman in U.S. culture really shed light for me on how physical and financial limits impact each of us, and how fending off things like sexism and ableism is flat-out exhausting.

This is why self-care has emerged as a theme in my work — it’s absolutely fundamental to each of us, and I’ve been fortunate to find many wonderful guides around my own challenges with self-care over the past two-plus decades. I hope to serve as one, if I can, for others in need.

A few more things about me:

I’ve been journaling non-stop since I was thirteen. (I can actually look up any week of my life from 1984 onward and remember exactly what was going on for me then!) I’m a big believer in the power of journaling.

I have a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the fabulous graduate writing program at Columbia College Chicago. I have written many short stories. I love writing about the subtleties and complexities in relationships that trip us up and fill us with awe. You can read an oldie-but-goodie here.

RIP Sullivan, CEO of curiosity and relaxation

I live with my partner in the Chicago area.

I am an introvert and an HSP.

I have been owned by cats since I was a teenager. (Nobody owns a cat, right?!) Sullivan, pictured right, became my CEO of curiosity and relaxation when I began my work as a life coach in early 2011. He left us in 2018. You can read more about Sullivan’s role in my life here.

Our current cat companion is Genevieve (pictured below). I call her the Queen of Mayhem. She really knows how to stir things up (always in a very cute way!).

Genevieve, Queen of Mayhem!

I love: taking meandering walks and noticing animals and trees. Cats. Capuchin monkeys. The movie Jaws (I watch it once a year on my birthday). Coffee with four creams and no sugar. Tori Amos. Watching Tara Brach’s Dharma Talks on Youtube. Wes Anderson movies. Long conversations with momentum of their own. Cats, cats, cats.

Feel free to chime in and comment on any article that speaks to you. If public comments are not your thing, I’d still love to hear from you — you’re welcome to email me with any thoughts or ideas for topics you’d like me to write about at jillwinskicoaching@gmail.com

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Find out about working with me here.