RVO Health

My good friend Marilou Lagman Gilfillan, SPHR® , posted a similar image of her hugging herself at age 5 (via AI) today, and I had to try it out. And..... This photo hit me WAY harder than I expected. Because when I look at that little girl, I don’t just see 'baby Sam heading to Kindergarten.' I see a kid trying to navigate broken roads, broken homes, and broken people doing the best they could with what they had. I see a little girl learning how to become “strong” long before she should have had to. And if I’m honest, for a long time, I thought leadership meant carrying everything silently. Holding it together. Pushing through. Performing no matter what was happening internally. But Mental Health Awareness Month reminds me how many of us became high achievers before we became healed. Therapy, support, boundaries, self-awareness, and learning that survival mode is not the same thing as living have changed the way I lead. Because while I’m leading teams, facilitating programs, and helping others grow… I’m also leading this little girl. I’m trying to give her the safety, support, compassion, and voice she didn’t always have. That has become part of my leadership philosophy, too. The leaders who create the most impact are often the ones who decide the cycle stops with them. And maybe that’s what leadership really is: Not pretending we were never broken. But learning how to build something healthier from the pieces. ❤️ #mentalhealthawarenessmonth #resilience #innerchild #selfcare #selflove #selfacceptance #leadership