Our minds are powerful storytellers, but not every story they create is true. Learn how to recognize the difference between a thought and a fact, challenge the assumptions that keep you stuck, and build a healthier relationship with your inner voice.

Every birthday makes me pause. Not because I have everything figured out—I definitely don’t—but because each year leaves me with lessons I couldn’t have learned any other way. Some came through heartbreak. Some through healing. Some through incredible people. Others through moments I wish I could skip. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life doesn’t hand us wisdom all at once. It gives it to us piece by piece.

We’re constantly told to dream bigger, work harder, and chase the next milestone. Set another goal. Read another book. Build another habit. Accomplish more.

None of that is bad, I just think we’re asking ourselves the wrong question.

Instead of asking, “What’s my next goal?” I think we should start with, “Why does this matter to me?”

I could tell you my family’s favorite movies, favorite foods, and probably even everyone’s exact order at an Italian restaurant.

But I couldn’t have told you what legacy they hoped to leave behind, the words they needed to hear when they were struggling, or what they wished more people understood about them.

I don’t think that’s unique to my family. I think it’s true for so many of us.

In this week’s blog, I share the story behind Pieces of You™ and why I believe the conversations we avoid are often the ones we need most.

One conversation can change the direction of someone’s life. The question is whether we’re creating enough opportunities for those conversations to happen.

Sometimes, the most significant breakthrough in one’s mental health and recovery journey begins with a single question no one has ever asked before. Healing doesn’t always come from advice or a standard protocol; it often begins with a moment of feeling truly seen and heard.

One year ago, on a Monday afternoon, I walked into DiDi Hirsch Excelsior House for the first time, and it changed my life forever. It was that day I realized: Behind every diagnosis, every addiction, and every crisis is a person whose story is waiting to be understood.

Every Monday, I have the privilege of playing the board game I created, Pieces of You: Guided Edition, at DiDi Hirsch Excelsior House. I’ve been facilitating it there for almost a year now, and every single time, I walk away reminded of how much people are carrying beneath the surface that rarely gets talked about.

So often, it is because no one has ever stopped to ask, “How are you, really?” No one has opened the kind of conversations that lead to deeper reflection, honesty, and, for many, feeling truly heard and seen for the first time.

What I love most about this experience is how quickly people move beyond surface-level answers. Within minutes, conversations shift from “I’m fine” to what people are actually holding onto, grieving, avoiding, or trying to understand about themselves.

Created during an internship with limited resources, this reflective mental health board game has now become a powerful tool for group therapy, helping participants connect with themselves and each other. With six categories of prompts focused on self-expression, self-care, and emotional growth, the game creates a safe space for healing through conversation, creativity, and connection.