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Hello, beautiful friends, and welcome back to The Meredith Patterson Podcast. Today's Mental Health Monday is one that comes straight from my heart—and from a place I think many of you will recognize in yourselves. We're talking about perspective—how the lens through which we see our lives can either crush us or set us free.

🎙️ Personal Story & Vulnerability

I want to start by being really honest.

There have been mornings—many mornings—when I wake up and think: I've failed at nearly everything.

Failed in my career. Failed financially. Failed in life. Failed at being fully accepted.

I've noticed something painful about my perspective: I often feel more loved, more accepted by colleagues and friends, when I'm succeeding. When I'm onstage. When I'm doing something "big." When I'm shining.

And if I'm really honest, that started with my parents. Growing up, love was… conditional. The attention I received was strongest when I was achieving, when I was performing, when I was connected to celebrities or important people in the business. If I wasn't in that spotlight, it felt like I was invisible. Out of sight, out of mind.

So the perspective I carried into adulthood was: Success equals love. Performance equals acceptance.

And the truth? That's not love.

🎙️ The Struggle of Perspective

Because of that perspective, I work incredibly hard. I set goals. I push myself all the time. I tell myself that when I achieve the next big thing, I'll be loved. I'll be accepted.

But here's the burden: that perspective leaves me feeling like I'll never be enough. It's exhausting. It's painful. And it's a filter through which I sometimes see everything.

And yet—this is the work. The work of unwinding the perspective I was handed so I can be free from this pain and so I don't pass this down to my children. Because that cycle—of conditional love tied to achievement—is not something I want them to inherit.

🎙️ The Lesson in Perspective

So what's the lesson here? Perspective is not always truth. It's just the lens we're looking through. My lens was shaped by childhood, by family, by show business, by years of applause and silence.

But I get to choose whether to keep that lens on—or to shift it.

I can acknowledge: Yes, I was raised in a way where love felt conditional. But I can also tell myself: That is not the definition of love.

Love is not applause. Love is not conditional on my résumé or my bank account.

Love is steady. It's patient. It's presence.

And the more I practice seeing love and acceptance through that lens, the lighter the burden becomes.

🎙️ Tools & Affirmations for Shifting Perspective

I want to share some simple tools that have started to help me—and can help you—shift perspective every day:

1. Morning Check-In.

When you wake up, before you check your phone or start your to-do list, ask yourself: What do I need most today? It might be rest, joy, connection, or focus. Give yourself permission to honor that need.

2. Gratitude Swap.

When your mind says "I failed," swap it with something you're grateful for in that exact moment. Gratitude interrupts negative perspective and creates new pathways for self-love.

3. Mirror Work.

Look at yourself in the mirror each morning and speak kindness into your reflection. Even if it feels awkward. I have been trying this a lot lately and sometimes I laugh at myself. But I still do it. I have to see myself differently and love that woman in the mirror. Even through tears sometimes I say "Hey Mer, I love you. I got you" 

4. Write It Down.

Keep a journal where you rewrite old perspectives. For example: I am only loved when I succeed becomes I am loved because I exist.

And here are some daily affirmations you can say out loud, whisper, or write down:

• "I am worthy of love exactly as I am."
  

• "My value is not defined by my achievements."
  

• "I release the need to earn love—I already have it within me."
  

• "Every day, I choose to see myself with compassion and acceptance."
  

• "Bliss is my birthright."
  

🎙️ Practical Takeaway for Listeners

If you're listening to this and recognizing yourself in my story—here's what I invite you to do:

• Ask yourself: What perspective about love, success, or acceptance am I carrying that might not actually be true?

• Write it down.

• Then gently, compassionately, start to unwind it. Remind yourself: that perspective came from somewhere, but you don't have to let it define your future.

Perspective can either be a prison or a key. And you get to decide.

Thank you, as always, for sharing this space with me. Mental Health Mondays are about reminding each other that we're not alone, that we can heal, and that the way we see ourselves and the world can change.

I'm grateful you're here. I'm grateful for your perspective. And I hope today's reflection helps you shift yours just a little bit closer to love—the unconditional kind.

Until next time, I'm Meredith Patterson, and remember: Bliss is your birthright. 💙