Why We Need Core Values
When it comes to building a successful brand, defining and communicating your core values is important. These values serve as the foundation for all decision-making and communication within your organization, and they play a crucial role in shaping the perception of your brand in the minds of your customers and end users. As you build your business, they help to guide the actions of your employees, and they can be used as a benchmark for evaluating potential partnerships and other business opportunities. In this blog post, I'm going to define the Core Values of The Lockman Lounge and why they're important to me and to the brand.
Core Values
Prioritizing Men's Mental Health-When I reference this core value, I mean that I believe that we should actively choose to focus on, provide resources for, and better understand men's mental health. Men often push mental health to the very back of the line when it comes to their priorities list, and it's been incredibly detrimental over the last several decades.
Breaking the Stigma-There is a stigma surrounding mental health that we need to break. People tend to look at mental health struggles as a sign of weakness instead of properly understanding the science behind the illnesses that cause mental health issues and still look down on people for seeking help with their mental health. A person with a broken bone will never be looked down on for having an x-ray but some people are still thought less of or categorized as weak or needy for seeking help for mental illness. We need to work together to destigmatize seeking mental health treatment as well as seeking understanding for why we feel or react in certain ways to life circumstances.
Empowering Self-Care-This Core Value will be a common theme throughout my blog entries and a focal point as we continue to build the brand. Men do a poor job in today's world of spending time doing things that they enjoy, that are healthy, and that help them take care of themselves. As we discuss hobbies that men can use to practice self-care, I want readers to understand that the hobby is the widget, and that self-care is the overarching goal.
Therapy Support-Simply put, men don't utilize therapy enough. Therapy is rooted in an understanding of how the brain works and helps tons of people every day but men struggle to utilize this very valuable tool. I believe that we need to create awareness of the resources available to men and provide a system to connect men to therapists. I also am passionate about creating an anonymous network for men who might feel uncomfortable seeking therapy because of the stigma that is attached to it uniquely for men.
Suicide Prevention-Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States with roughly 1 person dying every 11 minutes per the CDC. (Article Here). Suicide also affects us worldwide. Suicide rates are increasing, and people are dying needlessly. There are resources out there to help prevent these deaths and I believe that we can make an impact in a positive direction if we work together to properly train people to see and respond to warning signs, work with legislators to pass meaningful legislation, and relentlessly pursue the highest quality of care.
Inclusive Environment-This website and brand are primarily focused on men but it's important that everyone understands that anyone who is struggling with their mental health, has a passion to help others prioritize their mental health, or perhaps doesn't fit into a societal norm for gender identity is welcome here. We will not discriminate against anyone for any reason and our doors will remain open to everyone who wants to have a productive conversation about positively impacting the mental health scene.
Building A Community Together
With these Core Values in mind, I'd love to see more interaction from each of you on every post. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you can comment, and I'd encourage you all to do so. The goal of this website and brand is to bring awareness to a need, but also to provide a space to have productive conversations about mental health. I will ask that you remain good natured in your comments and make them purposeful so as to help people who are struggling with their mental health. I don't intend for the website to provide a platform for arguments but will absolutely welcome varying perspectives that seek to help the cause. If we work together, I know we can make a real impact helping men prioritize their mental health, lowering suicide rates, and building a lasting community that our children and grandchildren can truly benefit from. Thank you for taking the time to read and remember to make a positive impact on the world today.
John
About the Author:
John Lockman is passionate about promoting men's mental health. Having lost a family member to suicide at an early age, he is committed to raising awareness about the disproportionate number of men affected by this devastating issue. Through his own personal experiences and his website, www.thelockmanlounge.com, John hopes to help men think differently about how to prioritize their well-being and become more comfortable acknowledging and processing their feelings in a healthy way.
In addition to his passion for mental health advocacy, John also has almost two decades of experience in the business world. Most recently, he oversaw roughly 100 million dollars of annual revenue and was responsible for managing a team of 75 employees. In this role, John had a significant impact on customer service, profitability, employee retention, and marketplace growth. With his wealth of knowledge and experience, John is a seasoned professional with valuable insights to share.
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