When I accepted the role as Executive Director of Blue Zones Project Scottsdale, I was excited for all the “right” reasons. Career growth. Community leadership. The opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. It felt like a transformational professional growth win.

When the work began, I treated it like a mission I was leading for everyone else. As someone who always strived for perfection, I was constantly programmed to overachieve, which meant sacrifice somewhere else.  I was focused on impact, strategy, and outcomes. Inspiring and empowering a team. Helping our community make healthier choices. Talking about movement, connection, purpose, and stress reduction all while quietly pushing myself too hard and telling myself I’d get to those things “later.”

But the work has a way of catching up with you.

Pretty early along the way, I started paying closer attention to how I was living, not just what I was promoting. I noticed how often I skipped meals or ate on the go. How movement had turned into another box to check. How being “busy” had become my default, and somehow my badge of honor.

So I started making small changes. Not because I had to, but because I finally gave myself permission to. Walking more. Slowing down at the table. Being more mindful about how I showed up for my family at the end of the day. Creating space for connection, rest, and purpose, not just preaching their importance, but practicing them.

And that’s when it hit me: I needed Blue Zones more than Blue Zones needed me.

This wasn’t just a job anymore. It became a mirror. The principles we talk about every day stopped being abstract and started being deeply personal. I wasn’t just encouraging the community to make healthier choices, I was learning how to make them for myself.

Choosing health stopped feeling like one more thing on my to-do list. It became about designing a life that actually supports me and the people I love. A life where the healthy choice isn’t the hard choice, it’s the natural one.

The biggest shift? I haven’t become a better leader by doing more. I have become a better leader by living better.

Blue Zones hasn’t just given me a framework for community wellbeing, it has helped me reconnect with what matters most in life too. And for that, I’m deeply grateful.

Because while I came into this role ready to lead, I didn’t expect it to also help lead me.