There comes a point in life when hospital appointments, scans and treatments stop being something that happens to other people and become part of your own reality.

When that happens, your perspective changes.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been on a journey I never expected to take.

A lot of that journey has been about rebuilding my mental health after some difficult experiences. It taught me resilience, patience and how to keep moving forward when life feels heavy.

Sometimes surviving is an achievement in itself.

The truth is, I always knew my physical health battles were there.

I just put them off.

After everything I had been through mentally and emotionally, I wasn’t ready to face another fight. I needed time to rebuild myself first. To regain stability. To understand my own mind before I could deal with what my body was asking of me.

Maybe some people would say I should have dealt with my physical health first. Looking back, maybe they’d have a point.

But without first repairing my mental health, I don’t think I would have been strong enough to face what lies ahead.

Over the last two years, I made a conscious decision to live.

I travelled to places I had always wanted to see, attended retreats, spent time writing and gave myself space to heal. That time didn’t fix everything, but it gave me perspective.

Now, as I face ongoing treatment and the uncertainty that comes with it, I feel more prepared than I once would have been.

Not fearless.

Just stronger.

What this process has taught me is that life has a way of stripping everything back to what really matters.

Family.

Friendship.

Connection.

I’m grateful for the support of my family and for the unexpected friendships I’ve built over the last year or two. Some through travel, some through shared struggles, but all arriving when I needed them most.

Before my health began limiting me, I made sure to visit places I had always wanted to see. I’m grateful for that now.

There are still places on my list. Still adventures I want to have.

But for now, those plans have to wait.

And that’s okay.

Because life isn’t just measured by where we go or what we achieve.

It’s measured by the moments we create, the people who stand beside us and the lessons we carry forward.

A lot of those lessons have found their way into my writing.

My memoir, From the Ring to the Boardroom, was built around resilience, setbacks and learning how to keep moving when life doesn’t go to plan. Looking back now, it feels less like something I wrote and more like something I was unknowingly preparing myself to live.

Then there’s Outside the Boardroom.

That book was published, but I took it down.

At the time, it felt too dark. Too personal. It reflected a version of me that was still carrying a lot of pain, and I wasn’t sure the people around me were ready for it — or maybe I wasn’t.

But I don’t regret writing it.

Writing helped me process things I didn’t fully understand at the time. And maybe that’s what some books are meant to do.

I’ll revisit it, edit it and republish it when the time feels right.

Because sometimes the hardest stories to tell are the ones that can help others the most.

For now, my focus is simple.

Health.

Family.

Friends.

And taking life one day at a time.

None of us know what tomorrow brings.

All we can do is make the most of today.

Because sometimes life forces you to slow down before you’re ready.

And when it does, you start to see things differently.

What matters.

What hurts.

What heals.

And sometimes, to truly heal, we have to step away.