Mental Health Month 2026
Full disclosure, I was not a “glass half full” or “optimistic” person for a large portion of my life. The reasons are many, but what matters more to me today is how that changed.
It started in 2017, and doing one small thing: naming one thing I liked about myself each day and telling someone. This was not my idea … but I’m a rule follower, so I did this and here is what happened …
I was in a peer support group, and we were supposed to write down something we liked about ourselves. I burst into tears after about five minutes. I could not name a single thing. The facilitator let me pass, other people shared, and I cried. After the group, she said, “I want you to do something for me. Every day, starting tomorrow, tell me one word or thing you like about yourself, but you can’t choose the same word twice, okay?”
I went home and googled “Positive Character Traits” and looked at the list for one word that felt true about me, so that I could complete this assignment the next day. Twenty days later, she handed me a small, handmade notebook with this note. I have never seen Chrissy again, but she changed me and gave me hope with this act of kindness. I have done this with others over the years to pay that hope forward.
This practice of naming one thing I kept doing for a while, then stopped, then started again. I always came back to it because it worked for me. One day, I didn’t stop anymore … every day as part of my daily routine I name the good things I like about myself or I’m grateful to have.
On the hardest days, the one thing was very basic: I ate, I showered, I slept. On the good days, I name three things. It turns out I am an optimist, I think I always was at my core … but someone kind needed to share hope with me so I could learn to love myself.
“What works for one person may not work for another, and that’s okay. The path may look different for everyone, but we all deserve #MoreGoodDaysTogether 💚 #MHM2026” Mental Health of America has a lot of resources for Mental Health Month. Check it out here.
Read more about Negative Bias – The Brain – Why it’s Wired This Way
Read more about Positive Thinking – Your Brain Chemistry
