Mental Health - Stories from the Talk Tour
written by Patrick Kelley
The Mentor Project mentor and CEO of Critical Path Securities, Patrick Kelley, wrote this blog.
Stories from the road
The hardest battles are the ones you fight against your own mind. I met someone on the road recently who shared a part of her story that left me deeply moved. She spoke about her struggles, her scars, and the war she’s waged within herself.
As we spoke at the end of a talk, she kept pulling her sleeves down. When I asked if she was doing okay, she admitted that she was embarrassed of the cuts on her arms. She felt weak and disappointed in herself. She felt like a failure.
That's not what I saw.
I don’t advocate for cutting or self-harm, but I also know that scars tell stories – and hers, and maybe yours, are stories of survival. They’re proof of battles fought and won.
So, if you’re reading this, it means you’ve overcome every single thing that’s come at you so far. That’s a perfect record. And you will keep going, one hard-fought day at a time.
You don’t have to hide your scars or feel ashamed of them. They’re not signs of defeat – they’re marks of resilience. They’re the proof that even when your mind waged war against you, you didn’t surrender. You found a way forward, no matter how hard it was.
To the woman I met, and to anyone who needs to hear this: Keep fighting. Keep moving forward. Your story isn’t over yet. And when you’re ready, you might just find that your scars inspire someone else to keep going, too.
Patrick Kelley, CISSP, C|EH, ITIL
CEO