Dan WillisChief Inspiration Officer (CIO), Speak Out Media · Starting into the next chapter!

#men it's going to take time. Do the work, don't quit. #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters

23 Jul 2026 · 2 min

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1:36

In this motivational monologue, the speaker recounts a recent night of intense suicidal thoughts, describing how he consciously chose to keep living and to face each new day. He reflects on the emotional clutter of pain, grief, anger, and sadness, and likens the process of working through these feelings to starting at a gym for the first time: the smallest mental burdens feel like heavy weights, but with persistence and consistency they become manageable. He emphasizes beginning with small, doable steps, gradually building strength to handle larger issues, and notes that over time the weight of emotional struggles becomes comfortable to lift. The speaker directs his message specifically to men who are currently struggling, urging them to start small, stay consistent, and do the emotional work, promising that sustained effort leads to joy on the other side.

Chapters

So I remember a night not too long ago, a few months back, where it really was just me staring at a ceiling and trying to decide, do I wanna keep going? Is there really any point in going forward from here? Could I just not be here? And I remember making that conscious decision of, yeah, no, I wanna keep going. I wanna, tomorrow, I wanna see what tomorrow has to bring. And continuing to do that every day. And what I've realized Working through a lot of that clutter, a lot of the pain, a lot of the sadness, the grief, the mourning, the hurt, the anger. It's a lot like going to the gym for the first time. The smallest things can feel like the heaviest weights. But if you're persistent, if you stick with it, you take the time and actually lift those heavy weights and you do it, you wrestle with those things, start with the small stuff, work your way up to the bigger stuff. It is amazing over time to see how you start to be able to just let things go. The weight becomes comfortable, that you're able to lift it, that you're able to handle it. So I want to encourage you, if you're a guy out there who's having a rough time, just a rough go of it right now, lift the weight. Start small. You don't have to tackle it all today. Start with something small and lift those weights. I promise you, if you keep doing it, if you're consistent with it and you do the work, There's just so much joy on the other side of it.