Living my Best AS Life

Does how we meet today have the power to change our tomorrow? That seemingly simple question is difficult to answer.

After two decades of feeling defeated and betrayed by my body and eventually becoming a shell of myself, a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) followed. When I began feeling human again, I chose to find the answer. What happened was that I became wonderfully curious again and began to see the connection between mind, and body and how they were an interconnected system. I ran small experiments. Better food, more laughs, quality sleep, more water, more exercise. Less entertaining, less yard work, and no more decorating for the holidays. The results were almost infomercial miraculous!

In early 2020, I took it to the next level and officially set out on the “re-jilling of Jill” while in Europe, just before the pandemic began. My hardest battle during the first year was grace, or unconditional, self-acceptance. Learning to shoot for 80% in life and failing was key. I might go to bed having failed, but when the sun came up, I whispered, ‘today, I begin again’. With that routine, I became stronger and whole again, believing in my truth – not someone else’s version of my truth.

In late 2020 and early 2021, life threw more at me quickly than I could handle, so I took an unplanned pause. In my pain, I found a deep calling to focus on the things that I am passionate about – addressing inequality and promoting human flourishing, I set out on a journey to “entrepreneur-land.” Now, the secondhand negotiate with me, I am surrounded by people who inspire me and find the time to build a company, work more with SAA on supporting the Spondylitis community in various ways, take power naps, hang with my daughters, laugh a little and celebrate the small wins, every day.

It has been a steep, grueling, and wonderful climb and I know there will be many more challenges ahead, but I fully believe that how I have met today has changed my tomorrow for the better.