My ‘One Word’ this week is: LIVING

My 3 reasons for living today are…..

This is the gratitude question Leslie Weirich has every student answer when she speaks across the country as a Suicide Prevention advocate.

Leslie’s son Austin died by suicide in 2016 and she has made it her mission to end the stigma surrounding mental health.

She shares this exercise as part of the Sources of Strength program that teaches resiliency through eight protective factors:

✅ Physical health

✅ Family support

✅ Positive friends

✅ Mentors

✅ Healthy activities

✅ Generosity/Gratitude

✅ Spirituality

✅ Mental health

Sources of Strength utilizes an upstream approach for youth suicide prevention. This upstream model strengthens multiple sources of support around young individuals so that when times get hard they have strengths to rely on.

She asks each person to put their answers inside their phones and when they’re having a stressful day, say them out loud because our brains needs to hear them!

According to Leslie, gratitude calms us down, rewires our brain that’s still growing, and gets us to the next moment!

So when I have a down day and questioning if I’m truly making an impact in the world, I repeat my 3-reasons for living:

1. To provide the emotional support my adult children deserve so they don’t have to navigate this crazy world alone.
2. To continue the partnership my wife and committed to 27 years ago on our wedding day (6-22-96).
3. To serve the next generation of young adults by helping them step into their identity much younger than I did.

We all need to write down our 3-reasons for living, say them often and remember that living is way more important than a failing grade, a fight with your boyfriend/girlfriend, a college rejection, a job loss…YOU GET MY POINT!

Now it’s your turn to answer this question!

Please take the time to listen to this life-saving conversation with Leslie…it’s a real game changer.

#HOPE37🏈