Focus on Alongside

One word rises to the surface from my podcast with Rhona Morrison this week: alongside. This simple, often overlooked term becomes a profound call to action when viewed through the lens of Rhona’s life and work. Her journey, marked by personal resilience, professional compassion and a deep commitment to the destigmatisation of mental illness, illustrates the transformative power of walking alongside others. Not ahead or behind but alongside them.

Rhona’s work as a forensic psychiatrist offers a powerful reminder of how society often isolates those labelled as ‘mentally ill criminals’. However, what if we walked alongside them instead? What if, instead of judgement, we offered empathy? Rhona urges us to look past labels and see the human being beneath.

For me, her message is a clear call to action: choose connection over condemnation. When you walk alongside someone struggling with mental illness, you should offer them support and affirm their humanity.

Rhona’s story speaks to the ripple effect of change. By shifting one mindset, you can influence others gently, persistently. Whether it’s challenging a friend’s casual stigma, supporting mental health initiatives or simply being present for someone going through a hard time, you’re capable of leaving ripples of understanding in your wake.

Rhona’s personal life echoes this theme. After losing her husband, she didn’t retreat from the world, she leaned into a new chapter. She found purpose in advocacy, art and storytelling. Walking alongside her own grief, she created a path forward for herself and for others who might one day follow her. Rhona's journey invites you to reflect. Are you holding onto old chapters that no longer serve you? If so, what’s stopping you from beginning again? It’s never too late to… this is where you fill in the rest of the sentence because it’s you who chooses to write your own story.

Living with purpose, as Rhona exemplifies, isn’t about grand gestures; it’s about alignment. It’s about making sure the way you spend your time reflects what you care most deeply about. That might mean picking up a forgotten passion or telling your own story to help someone feel less alone.

To walk alongside someone is to acknowledge their worth. It’s to meet people where they are, and to say, ‘You’re not alone’. That kind of presence is intentional, compassionate and purpose-driven and it holds the power to change lives. Now, that’s something worth stepping into, don’t you agree?

Focus on Alongside. Focus on Why.

ACTION POINT: Who in your life might need someone to simply walk alongside them right now and how can you show up for them?