We recently connected with Jill Ricker and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jill, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
When I was in middle school, I would come home and make a pot of white rice. I would load butter and salt on it and usually eat the whole batch. I think that was the beginning of my love affair with sugar. I think back and I can see that with any amount of sugar there was a switch that turned on inside of me and didn’t want to turn off. Anyone who has been addicted to something can relate. You don’t stop thinking about it. One bite was never enough…and yet, that bite was too much all at the same time. It was so confusing because who would have thought food could hook you? I mean, it’s only food…you have to eat, right?
Much later I learned the connection of sugar and the brain. It explained why when I would eat sugar or carbs high in sugar it would wrestle me to the ground as I tried to stop. And it would win. What is tricky here is that I was not overweight. No one ever would have known about this inner struggle and how it knocked on my door every day.
It wasn’t until I decided to free myself. The only way to freedom was to cut it out of my life. And when I did, what I found was a brand new way of living. One that let me sleep better, think more clearly, regulate my moods, have more energy during the day, and make better choices for myself overall. The overall feeling of freedom from sugar has given me confidence to know that I can do just about anything. The key for me was to not think about it as never eating sugar again, but to replace it with lifestyle changes that made me happy. For me, it’s movement. I’m lucky that my body allows me to do just about anything. I take full advantage of it, too. Running, walking, cycling, yoga…you name it. I love feeling good in the skin I am in. This is not about weight. It’s about energy and strength and resilience in everyday life.
Yes, sugar is that powerful of a drug. Being free from it has been the ultimate in selfcare because it contributes to my relationships with family & friends, performance at work, interest in staying active. My wellbeing.
At the end of my days, I want to be able to say that I took great care of myself and used up all my gifts and talents. Freedom from sugar is a self-care choice that impacts all the others.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
For the past 10 years I have overseen a non-drug intervention for people living with dementia. It is from Japan and besides stimulating the brain, it offers dignity, respect, and a better way of living with the vicious disease. My greatest desire twofold:
(1) To bust up the stigma surrounding dementia, and (2) to help people understand that their choices 100% impact their brain. Billions have been spent on a cure for dementia. The magic is never to get it. Hope is not a healthcare strategy. Simple, every day choices are the way to do.
Secondly, my business partner and I launched Bluestone Functional Health Solutions, to provide a wellness model of care for people vs the traditional sick care with traditional medicine. My business partner is a 30+ year cardiac Nurse Practitioner who is certified in functional medicine. She has walked alongside physicians and recognized the positives of medicine as well as the gaps. Our practice in functional medicine takes a deeper dive into a person’s individual story to look for where their illness comes from so that they can make the changes necessary to fix it vs treat its symptoms. We believe that living a long life is not the answer. It’s living a long, healthy life with the ability to do all the things you love to do with those you love that makes life so beautiful.
On September 1st we found a location we loved for our business, and we are currently under construction preparing to open the doors in October. We will continue working at our current location until the Bluestone Center is ready for clinical visits with Jennifer the Nurse Practitioner, appointments with our Board-Certified Nurse Health Coaches, dieticians, and other professionals to support our client’s health journey. At our new location we will also provide educational opportunities on many health-related topics.
We can be found at www.bluestonefhs.com.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Moxy – defined as force of character, determination, nerve. When I sold pharmaceuticals, I was responsible for 5 hospitals in the Chicago area. It was a time when sales reps could call on physicians right in the hospital; however, they could see you coming a mile away. It was so hard to have them all look right through you. It was also hard to enter areas that screamed, “YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE.” Talk about having to pull yourself up every single day and enter an environment where no on wanted to see you. Until….they did. It was all about believing it wasn’t about me. It wasn’t me that they didn’t like. It was “the sales rep.” But I just kept going because it was my job. I got creative and eventually formed relationships. Things began to change, and eventually people were looking at me, not through me.
2. Believing that the universe/God/whatever you believe is always working for me and not against me. When things didn’t work out, it just meant I had to try something new. I was intentional about not letting the failure get under my skin. There was nothing to do but to keep going.
3. Life long learning – I have never had a job that I was equipped to do. Somehow, I would get the job and then work like crazy to learn it. For example, hospital cardiovascular sales. Zero medical background, but 100% interest. I sold myself on getting the role and then was faced with studying anatomy & physiology of the heart, how to read clinical studies and more. It nearly got the best of me, but I did it. I didn’t realize then what a confidence builder that would be.
My advice to anyone, young or old is to stop underestimating yourself. You are so much more capable than you think you are…at any age. Take risks. Big ones. Small ones. Just take them. Don’t be limited by your self-talk. Do whatever you need to do change your thinking to that of possibilities and service. No regrets.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I am 100 % sure that the way to success and happiness is to capitalize on your strengths. YOU are who we need. Your gifts and talents are all yours. Nurture them. Strengthen them. Share them. Love them. The more you love you and all you have to give, the more fortunate the rest of us are that you are an authentic human being who is exactly who they are meant to be. Leave the other stuff for the person who is meant to have what you are not good at.
If you do that, I cannot wait to meet you because you will be a force of nature!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bluestonefhs.com
Image Credits
Teressa Fiderio – head shot
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