A host shares candid reflections on mental health, perfectionism, and community, recounting a week of mourning, hope, collaboration and gratitude while encouraging listeners to show up imperfectly and connect with others.
The presenter introduces the session (and her dog) and admits she postponed going live while waiting to feel ‘ready,’ ultimately deciding there is no perfect time and naming the talk 'You Don't Have to Be 100% to Show Up.'
She describes experiences from the week — joining Jason Lennox's walk, meeting grieving family members, attending the Cadre open house, and collaborating with a contributor — emphasizing both heartbreak and hope.
The host reflects on her struggles with mental health and perfectionism, expresses gratitude that her story continued, and highlights how showing up with vulnerability fosters connection and belonging.
She offers a concise takeaway about feeling many emotions in one week, urges viewers to reach out to loved ones, and invites people in Minnesota to welcome Jason at the walk's finish.
She recommends getting outside to reset, points out her 'Your mind matters' shirt, and closes by reminding viewers that their minds and lives matter and that we're stronger together.
Hi everyone. We will just wait a few minutes for others to join. While we're waiting, I want to show you my little partner in crime here today. This is Bailey and she's gonna be a part of my life. I think I'll go ahead and get started. I just I changed sceneries a little bit today because I was just feeling the need to get out of the space that I'd been in all day. And I wanted to just start with being real with all of you. I kept putting off and putting off this live today. I was feeling a range of emotions and I kept thinking there's going to be this better opportunity for me to do it when I'm feeling in a different head space.
And I finally challenged myself to say there's not going to be a perfect time today and I'm going to show up and do the best that I can to keep it real with all of you. And that's why I titled it You Don't Have to Be 100% to Show Up. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and I talked a little bit about that last week and it has, I know, a lot of meaning and significance to all of us. I think for me, this week has been flooded with a range of emotions. I started my week on Sunday with one of our amazing contributors, Jason Lennox.
I'm sure many of you have listened to his lives and he is just an incredible human being. And I would describe that day as filled with both heartbreak and hope as Jason is walking, is finishing his walk for 1776 miles around the state of Minnesota for a beautiful 13 year old girl named Kenzie who lost her life to suicide about, I don't know, a year plus ago. And while on that walk, I had the opportunity to meet the mother of another person who did pass away. And it was both heartbreaking to hear the stories and yet I was filled with hope as I think about the possibilities of the ways we can impact this world by coming together in community.
I was also filled with gratitude because I had the opportunity to attend the Cadre Open House and just be reminded of all the amazing people that are coming together to build this incredible Cadre community. So we know we don't have to do this thing alone and that was incredibly joyful. I also had experienced anxiety and joy once again this week as I teamed up with another one of our contributors, JC, who many of you know. And he and I will have an opportunity to bring some programming to life called Live Well, Lead Well.
And I was just so inspired by JC and the opportunity to do that work. So I think why so much of this week just matters so much to me is as somebody who struggled much of her life with mental health challenges. I just see the power in what we all can accomplish together. And I am so grateful that my story didn't end differently and that I am in this season of life where I have an opportunity to do even more work to further and advance the mission of all things mental health. And so I'm grateful for that.
I think the other thing that I continue to learn because I have a tendency to be a perfectionist is that it is okay to show up with all of your humanity, the full range of emotions and to own them. And that's what I hope that you and all of us can continue to challenge each other to do because that fosters connection, that creates belonging, and it helps all of us feel less alone. So this Saturday, I am so excited for the opportunity to join Jason as he finishes his 1776 mile walk to celebrate and bring him home and have the opportunity to meet Kenzie's family.
And yet we know the work is not done. If you're in the Minnesota area, it would be amazing to see you show up and welcome Jason across the finish line. I think that would be just such a powerful moment. So what I would say, I'm gonna keep this one pretty short and sweet, what I would say to all of you, just as one little takeaway, is it's possible to experience so many emotions in one week. And it's important, I think, to acknowledge and name them. I was this close to not doing this live today, but I knew in my heart of hearts that regardless of how many people that actually tuned in or saw this live, that I would have pushed past a fear that I have of going live without being perfectly prepared.
And then I would also just say, take some time today to reach out to others that you care about and that you love and just let them know that you're thinking about them. Let them know that they matter. And lastly, do something good for yourself. I am sitting here with the beautiful fall colors in the background and that was one of the things that I did today when I was feeling all the feels. I got out of my office, I tried to get out of my head and take in the beautiful fall colors and see the flowers around our neighborhood and it just, I came back with a different level of energy and mindset.
And speaking of mindset, I didn't plan this initially, but I put on a t-shirt that says, Your mind matters. And so I'll leave you with that. Your mind does matter. You matter to this world. And we are so much stronger together. So thank you for tuning in and I'll see you next week.
