As one year comes to a close and another begins, it's easy to think about everything we want to change.

We make plans, set goals and promise ourselves that this will be the year we finally get around to the things we've been putting off.

The end of the year rarely arrives as neatly as we'd like.

There's always one more job to finish, one more email to answer or one more thing that needs attention before we can finally switch off.

Christmas can be a wonderful time of year, filled with connection, celebration and familiar traditions. But when someone you love is missing, it can also be one of the hardest times to navigate.

I know this from personal experience.

We're getting very close to the pointy end of the year.

People are tired. There's a list of things that need to be finished well before Christmas, and somehow, that list doesn't seem to be getting any shorter.

Have you ever noticed that someone you care about doesn't seem quite themselves, but you've hesitated to ask if they're okay?

Perhaps they've seemed quieter than usual, a little withdrawn or not quite as engaged as they normally are. You want to check in, but you're worried about saying the wrong thing or making the situation worse.

One statistic changed how I think about prevention.

In 2024, nearly 67% of Australians who died by suicide had a recorded psychosocial risk factor.

Have you ever fired back at an email and regretted it almost immediately? Gone quiet during a difficult conversation? Or found yourself lying awake at night, replaying something that happened hours earlier?

I want to share something that might help you understand why these things happen.

On the farm, you learn to watch the sky.

You check the water, pay attention to the wind direction and notice when something is shifting long before it arrives. It's something you learn through experience, often without anyone needing to teach you directly. You learn to pay attention because it matters.

As a leader, do you actually know where your workplace culture sits right now?

I’m not talking about where you hope it is.

Or where you think it might be.

I mean where it actually is.

If your workplace has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), there’s a good chance many of your employees aren’t using it.

And it’s not necessarily because they don’t need support.

Suicide Prevention Month may be behind us, but the conversations around mental health, workplace culture and wellbeing need to continue all year round.

Here’s a question I encourage every leader to ask:

Do you actually know where your workplace culture sits?

As Suicide Prevention Month comes to an end, I want to say something that might feel a little uncomfortable.

Many organisations will have shared something meaningful this month. Perhaps a post, a statistic, a morning tea, or a conversation with their team. And I’m sure many of those actions were genuine and well-intentioned.

Every September, Suicide Prevention Month brings up a lot for me.

Workbench for the Mind exists because of my beautiful son, Muzz. In the aftermath of losing him, I found positive psychology

I’ve been thinking about how we often expect meaningful change to look obvious.

We imagine big moments, exciting breakthroughs, celebrations, or some kind of clear sign that tells us, Yes, I’m finally making progress.

It’s natural to want the people we care about to be happy.

We check in on them. We listen when they’re struggling. We show up when they need us. Sometimes, we even find ourselves trying to fix things for them because we hate seeing someone we love unhappy.

We all have thoughts and feelings we keep to ourselves.

The things we don't say. The emotions we push aside. The thoughts we tell ourselves we'll deal with later.

When relationships become complicated, it can be tempting to revisit the same conversations again and again, hoping that this time we will finally reach a resolution.

I know how easy it can be to fall into this pattern. We keep talking, explaining, clarifying and trying to find the right words. But sometimes, saying more isn’t what moves things forward.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the choices we make every day.

Some are small, like what we'll have for breakfast or which route we'll take to work. Others are much bigger. They shape our relationships, our wellbeing, and ultimately the direction of our lives.