Mental Health Isn't Just 'Mental'

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at Harvard Business School about mental health. I was asked by another SEAL buddy of mine, Andrew Sridhar, who’s also a coach and founder of the Warrior Poet. It was his 15-year reunion weekend, and I was honored to participate.

We talked about the difference between grit and resilience, which I shared through a BUD/S story, burnout and overwhelm, fear and anxiety—and how participants, including myself and Andrew, deal with them—and grief. I’ll expand on each of these in future articles.

I promise I wasn’t sleeping in this picture

One big lesson that presented itself and is worthy of repeating is that mental health isn’t relegated to “just” the mind. Before I give a speech, for example, I always, always, work out. Always. Of course, I always work out anyway, even if I’m not going to give a speech, but it’s even more important to do so while on the road for two reasons:

1. Maintaining consistency (because consistency is key)

2. Managing stress

How do you do it consistently? By tying it to your values. It may be a value of fun, health, longevity, agency, creativity, etc… I don’t think enough people know how to tie their actions to their values because they’re not crystal clear on what their values are.

The most beneficial aspect of knowing your values is recognizing the ones that are not.

Why? Because it makes decision-making soooo much easier. I spoke about this a bit in my book when I talked about Southwest Airlines and how knowing company values enabled decision-making at all levels in the company.

Anyway, the problem with traveling is that hotel gyms generally suck. I need more than an elliptical and a bosu ball to challenge me, so I typically bring resistance bands and TRX with me wherever I go. I have also been known to travel with a 70 lb kettlebell, until one TSA agent told me I couldn’t carry it onboard because it was CAST IRON.

Anyway, it was SUCH a breath of fresh air to stay at a hotel with a gym that was probably one of the best gyms I’ve ever seen—not just for a hotel, but anywhere.

Why am I highlighting this? Because comfort comes from more than just cozy rooms and decent service, as mental health is more than just “mental.” Mental health is a byproduct of the balance between mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual domains. For example, when we try to avoid uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, we might do so by distracting ourselves with harder work, longer hours, or more tasks. We essentially deplete the emotional domain and maximize the physical domain. This works short-term, but in the long term, it leads to burnout.

And speaking of burnout…

Burnout isn’t always the result of doing too much, as we discussed in this panel. Burnout can stem from doing too much of what burns you down, yes, but it can also come from not doing enough of what lights you up.

It’s easy to attribute burnout to “having too many things to do,” but the real culprit may be a lack of fulfillment in the emotional domain.

Burnout isn't just about exhaustion — it's about disconnection. Disconnection from purpose, from joy, and often from oneself.

Your workplace well-being isn’t a luxury — it’s a foundation.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading.