For Good Reflections: How We Protect Our Peace

Summary

For Good Reflections: How We Protect Our Peace

Podcast: For Good
Host: Joseph "JoJo" Simmons
Date: December 9, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This reflective episode of For Good centers on the theme of protecting your peace and the critical importance of mental health routines. Host JoJo Simmons, drawing from both personal experience and powerful moments from past guests, offers a “mental health mashup” — an open-hearted collection of advice, stories, and self-care practices. Through vulnerable storytelling and candid exchanges, JoJo and his guests explore how healing oneself fosters growth in families, communities, and wider legacies.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Value of a Mental Reset

• JoJo’s Approach (00:00):
  • Every morning, JoJo begins his day with meditation and prayer, intentionally creating space to “take a mental reset.”
  • Encourages listeners to make vulnerability a strength and to “prioritize your mental health.”

2. Real-Life Routines for Mental Health

• Physical Exercise and Identity (01:31-02:53)

  • Former Athlete shares how staying active, especially after retiring, counters “brain fog” and provides structure.
  • Acknowledges the struggle of redefining identity post-career, emphasizing, “Who am I as an individual?” after years defined by being an athlete.

• Morning Prayer and Digital Boundaries (03:01-04:22)

  • Angela emphasizes beginning her day with prayer and positive input, sometimes through wordless worship music.
  • Discusses deliberately putting her phone aside for 15–20 minutes to “check in” and “not jump into rash decisions.”
  • Memorable moment:
    • Angela jokingly explains her “give me a second” texts signify taking that crucial mental pause.

• Community & Faith (04:26-05:55)

  • Euphoria Founder calls daily self-care “a regimen,” highlighting workouts, meditation, prayer, and staying spiritually connected to God.
  • Emphasizes the power of community, saying, “We need to be able to express ourselves freely and…just get it out.”
  • Therapy is reframed as normal and necessary: “Sometimes you just need therapy to process different life triggers and different life situations.”

3. Breaking Stigma and Embracing Therapy

• Therapy in Black Communities (05:36-07:10)

  • Mental Health Advocate and Euphoria Founder break down cultural stigma, pushing for mental health openness.
  • “It doesn’t mean something is wrong with you because you need therapy.”

• Resilience, Ambition, and Setbacks (07:25-08:46)

  • Entrepreneur stresses goal-setting, enduring losses, and shedding tears as real expressions of handling pressure.
  • “You’re not a boss until you take a loss.”

4. Managing Burnout, Writing, and Rituals

• Written Release and Alchemy (10:35-11:45)

  • Mental Health Practitioner shares morning routines: exercise, writing out negative thoughts, and literally burning the paper as a release.
    • “I truly burn it. Write it out, burn it, and it literally…you will feel like a weight has lifted off you.”
  • JoJo responds: “I think that’s the biggest part for me…If I could focus on me first, then everybody else can get 100% of me.” (11:45)

• Personal Adaptations (11:45-12:24)

  • JoJo talks about solo time — whether by rolling a joint, reading, or reflecting before interacting with anyone else.

5. Creativity, Play, and Non-Productivity

• Reclaiming Play (13:03-14:45)
  • Nail Artist encourages “hobbies you will NOT turn into a business,” practicing play for its own sake.
    • “Get you some hobbies that allow you to play…like you are a little kid.”
  • Shares aerial hoop and DIY nail design as personal examples.

6. Setting Boundaries, Grieving, and Alone Time

• Alone Time and Emotional Expression (14:51-16:07)

  • Community Member, reflecting on losing a parent young, describes using solitary time in the shower to “let it all out” because “I can’t let my little ones ever see a weak point in me.”
  • Advocates for trusted conversation and setting boundaries: “Let that person feel something off of you.”

• Safe Spaces and Listening (16:07-17:02)

  • Advocate and community members note that therapy—or even “just listening”—is vital, especially for Black men who don’t feel heard.
  • “A lot of men don’t feel heard. So just having somebody listen really helps…even if you don’t have the answer.” (16:46)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• JoJo Simmons:
  • “Mental health isn’t something you figure out once. It’s something you practice daily.” (17:54)
  • “If I could focus on me first, then everybody else can get 100% of me.” (11:45)
• Angela:
  • “Sometimes I put a pause on it…at least 15 to 20 minutes…I need to make sure…I can get to it.” (03:43)
• Euphoria Founder:
  • “[Therapy]…takes the stigma off…the topic of needing therapy. It doesn’t need to be something negative. Sometimes you just need to talk it out, and that’s okay.” (05:55)
• Mental Health Practitioner:
  • “Write this, write it out, burn it…it literally…you will feel like a weight has lifted off of you.” (11:13)
• Nail Artist:
  • “Get you some hobbies that allow you to just play…one hour a week, you just play.” (14:10)
• Community Member:
  • “As a man, I might take a shower, I might just let it all out. I can’t let my little ones ever see a weak point in me.” (14:54)
• Mental Health Advocate:
  • “We all deal with trauma. It don’t matter if we come from a different tax bracket.” (16:07)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–01:31: JoJo’s personal morning ritual and call for a “mental health reset.”
• 01:31–02:53: Former athlete on losing athletic identity and mental health after sports.
• 03:01–04:22: Angela details her morning prayer and boundaries with technology.
• 04:26–05:55: Euphoria Founder on community, faith, and destigmatizing therapy.
• 07:25–08:46: Entrepreneur on ambition, setbacks, and emotional release.
• 10:35–11:45: Mental Health Practitioner shares burning negative thoughts as ritual.
• 13:03–14:45: Nail Artist on play, hobbies, and resisting over-productivity.
• 14:51–16:07: Community Member explains alone time, grief, and boundaries.
• 16:07–17:02: Advocate and Community Member describe the importance of being heard.
• 17:54–end: JoJo’s closing reflections and encouragement for ongoing self-care.

---

Takeaways

• There’s no single “right” way to protect your peace; self-care is personal, ranging from spiritual practice to movement, writing, creative play, therapy, or simply giving yourself permission to rest.
• Breaking generational cycles and stigma around mental health—particularly in Black communities and among Black men—remains an ongoing journey.
• Vulnerability, honest conversation, and intentional boundaries are recurring themes for sustainable well-being.
• JoJo’s signature blend of humility and humor welcomes both serious reflection and playful experimentation—reminding listeners that legacy is “built on love, not ego,” and that mental health is a daily practice.

“Focus on the good, never the bad. Measure by what you do, not what you have, and make sure you take care of your mental health.” — JoJo Simmons (17:54)

Transcript

[JoJo Simmons]

What's good, everybody? It's your guy, JoJo Simmons. And welcome back to the Forgood podcast, where we focus on the good, never the bad, and we're measured by what we do, not what we have. Today is a special episode. Today. I would like to call this, like, a mental reset. Right. On the For Good podcast, one subject that we take very serious is mental health. I happen to ask every guest at the end of every episode, what do they do for their mental health? And that's because I myself take mental health very serious. So I figured that me being vulnerable will help you guys, the listener, the viewer, the subscriber, to be vulnerable and to prioritize your mental health. So when it comes to mental health, I make sure that I take it very serious. I wake up every morning and I meditate, I pray, I thank God, and I make sure that I take that mental reset for myself before I enter the space or into the world so that I make sure that I'm at the calmest that I could be. I like to remind you guys to make sure you take that mental reset. So with this episode, I'd like to call it the mental health mashup, where we're going to go into a lot of the older episodes here, where I ask, what do people do for their mental health? And the conversations we spoke about about mental health from people saying they pray till they cry, till they write things down. Burnham, if you remember the Drinky Gates episode, a lot of different practices that people used that we were able to discuss on this here podcast. So I just wanted to bring it over you and remind you guys to have that mental health reset. Let's get into it, guys.

Love to know what you do for your mental health and what have you done lately for your mental health.

[Former Athlete]

Working out. Working out is a big thing. Same.

[JoJo Simmons]

Not as big as you, but you.

[Former Athlete]

Go a couple days without working out, you start to feel like a little brain fog. And it's like, all right, let me get back into it. But you feel great after you work out.

[JoJo Simmons]

Yeah.

[Former Athlete]

So I think that's a big part of it. And that's another reason why I say, like, a lot of athletes, that's all we did was work out. And I feel like post career, you know, the workout slowed down for a lot of people. And I think that's when that's. The mental fog starts creeping in. And now I'm trying to decide, who am I as an individual? Because at six years old, I was an athlete, six years old, all the way to, you know, you made it to league in your 20s or 30s, you know what I'm saying? So now it's like, what's my identity? So they have now lost their identity because now you still have a lot more life to live, but you're in your mid-30s and you're just like, what do I do next? Like, you know what I'm saying? So working out to me is like, played a big part. And I feel like when I first retired, because what else? You had to weigh in every Friday or you got fined 300 some dollars a pound, you know what I'm saying? If you weigh. So you had to stay a certain size. So my first two years I was like, I ain't working out, like. But then that's.

[Mental Health Advocate]

You went on a break.

[Former Athlete]

Sheesh. I said, let me. I'm not feeling like myself. Let me get, you know, get back into the gym. And I started doing, like, group activities that we used to have, like, boxing classes. And I would have a bunch of friends come and I would promote the boxing classes and then play tennis now. So just different things just to keep the. The mind going and the body moving.

[JoJo Simmons]

Can you tell the people as we wind down? I always ask this to all my guests. What have you done for your mental health lately? And what can they do to help them with their mental health? If they could follow an Angela regiment?

[Angela]

I get up and I pray. I did it today. I listen to something super positive before I do anything else. Or I'll put on like praise and worship music with no words. Sometimes I don't want to hear nothing. So it just depends on the mood. Like, I want to hear people talking to me about stuff, and sometimes I don't. But I did it today. Like, I got up, I did my thing, I listened, I sat down, I put my phone down. You pray, then just think and take time for myself, I think that's like one of the things that helps my mental health is like, okay, it's Wu start time. Kid asleep. Nobody's bothering me now. Let me think about me, let me pray. Let me figure out how I want to do my day. But I prayed that's what I did for my mental health.

[JoJo Simmons]

How long do you put your phone down? Because that's hard for me to put my phone down. When I wake up, I'm right to business mode.

[Angela]

Yeah, I tried not to go right there. If I wake up in this mad text, sometimes I'm like, you gotta get a pause. No, sometimes I put a pause on it. Oh. And just like, at least 15 to 20 minutes. Like you can't, like, I don't like to just jump in and I'm just making rash decisions. Like I need to make sure. Like I'm grinding and I like woke up blinking my eyes. I got like, okay, you hear you good? How you feel? Yeah, I guess a quick check in with myself and then I can get to it. Like, even I'll like be like, give me a second. If I seen something that needs my attention, I know I'll be there in five.

[JoJo Simmons]

Oh, so when you hit me with give me a second, that's what that means.

[Angela]

Oh, it could be, it could be, it could be.

[JoJo Simmons]

And give me a second.

[Angela]

I'll call you back with a better mood. Hey, how you doing?

[JoJo Simmons]

That's true though.

[Angela]

Fresh as a daisy. Good morning. I just need a moment, that's all.

[Euphoria Founder]

What euphoria is all about is bringing awareness and bringing different, you know, topics to the surface so people can thrive and, you know, be better. For myself, it's the self care regimen that I do and it's getting up, definitely working out so important. On days when I'm not feeling so good or things are not going right, if I just pause and go work out, you get those happy endorphins rolling and you can change the course of your day. Meditating and prayer, you know, very deeply spiritual and connected with God. And so that's my main source. He, he gives me all the peace that I need and the clarity that I need. So God plays a big part and, and community. Being able to be able to just talk to somebody, connecting with people, that's very important. Like minded people, like minded people. You know, if you need to get a therapist or someone to talk through things with, it's all about connecting and being able to share, you know, your story, share bits of yourself and be able to, you know, talk and connect.

[Mental Health Advocate]

Speaking of getting a therapist in therapy, I think in our culture and I speak about this, it's, it's, it's shunned upon and it used to be shunned upon to even have a therapy. Like something was wrong with us or, yeah, we couldn't express ourselves. How do you, like, what is your feeling on therapy and why people should take advantage of having a therapist?

[Euphoria Founder]

Therapy is so important because like I said, to thrive as humans, we need to connect and we need to be able to express ourselves freely and sometimes candidly without being judged and just getting it out. There's so much power in just getting it out and being able to talk to somebody. And it doesn't mean that something's wrong with you because you need therapy. Sometimes you just need therapy to process different life triggers and different life situations, different things life throws at you. You need someone to just talk to. And it doesn't mean that something's wrong with you. And again, that's a big part of why I'm starting euphoria. It's so that people, it takes the stigma off of, you know, the, the topic of needing therapy. It doesn't need to be something that's negative. It doesn't mean that something's wrong with you. Sometimes you just need to talk it out, and that's okay. And you'll feel 100% better once you do that. So I'm advocating for mental health awareness. I'm all about, you know, encouraging people to talk and, and create community so that they can thrive. Because that's, that's the way to thrive is we. We gotta keep a good balance. No one can just be all work and no play and. Or all work. And you need a balance to make everything work.

[JoJo Simmons]

Now that's real. My sisters and I, we've always taken care of our mental health, whether we have different approaches or not. It comes back to the same thing. Making sure you stay grounded and take time for yourself now that you're out. Been a few years, still have to deal with our mental health.

[Mental Health Advocate]

How do you stay mentally strong now?

[Entrepreneur]

It's the same way. It's like having faith in, like, chasing your goals, right? Having a plan like, you know, I want 40 tons to be this $100 million company. I want the doc to do this, I want the book to do this, right? I want to leave something or some kind of legacy for my kids, right? So in order to do that with living in, you know, California, one of the highest places to live in the world, right? So with high bills, with high gas, with inflation, with this, with that, right? We're taking on all the challenges of being a independent owner of a company and trying different things and trying different hustles of everything that you're trying to do. You're trying to be independent. So when you're trying to do everything independent, you're not a boss until you take a loss. You know what I mean? So it's like, you know what I mean? So it's like once you take the loss and once you, you know, have to climb back from that and have to deal with taking a loss, industry that is failing, right? And your family, your health, you know, I mean, so like dealing with all those three different things, components. Your mental health is going to go through some things and sometimes you're going to have to cry and you're going to have to let them tears out and just let it out and start over, because it's gonna feel good. And just, you know, talk to God in silence and let him know what your problems is and what are you trying to do.

[JoJo Simmons]

I'm pretty sure there's plenty of people that would love to know. What does Jesse Horton do for his mental health?

[Jesse Horton]

I could probably take some tips, to be honest. I need to watch the podcast to get all the tips from everybody else who says what they do. I always say the life of a cannabis cultivator is a tortured life in a sense. You know, it's cannabis cultivators and anybody out there who's a grower or knows growers, they're tortured souls in a sense, in that, you know, you're dealing with this plant that is a living being on its own and it's growing each and every day. And you might have a wind and a harvest and this strain, right? But you know, there's a harvest coming right after it that could easily be the worst that you ever had, no matter if the one you had just then was the best. So it's this level of like, it's being even keeled and not letting anything get you too high or anything too low. And I think you layer on top of that being a cannabis business owner on top of being a cultivator. And that in itself for any of the cannabis business owners knows that that is just difficult with all the changing regulations, with all the different things that are happening, with the state of the market. It's so I would say cannabis is without a doubt my number one go to with managing mental health cannabis, you know, those talks with God, talks with the universe. I haven't quite been able to find a great therapist, but eventually I will.

And, yeah, I'm still figuring out, though, brother.

[JoJo Simmons]

I'm still figuring it out. I think we all still figuring out. None of us truly have the answer, but it's what we do for ourselves to really keep us going and motivated every day. How do you balance ambition with protecting your peace? What does that tension look like in real time?

[Mental Health Practitioner]

Oh, it looks like taking the time out for myself. Because you can reach. I'm not going to lie. There was one point where I did reach a state of, like, just being completely burnt out. I just didn't have the knowledge that I have now. But now it looks like me Literally taking that time for myself. Like, when I wake up in the morning, like, before I do anything, like, I'll go and I work out at home and. And I'll go and work out. I'll do some writing.

[JoJo Simmons]

Flex.

[Mental Health Practitioner]

I'm sorry, the flex? Yes.

[JoJo Simmons]

Got garage.

[Mental Health Practitioner]

Yes. And then I might do some writing just to get, like, if I'm having any kind of, like, negative thoughts, like, I don't want to carry that into my day. So I'm gonna write that shit out and then I'm gonna burn it. Alchemize that negative energy. Yeah.

[Mental Health Advocate]

And do you truly burn it?

[Mental Health Practitioner]

I truly burn it. Wow.

[JoJo Simmons]

Because hasn't tried them, but it sounds.

[Mental Health Practitioner]

Please do it.

[JoJo Simmons]

I don't wanna burn the house down.

[Mental Health Practitioner]

Don't burn the house down.

[JoJo Simmons]

But I do want to try that. Like, write down what's bothering me and.

[Mental Health Practitioner]

Then turn it, let it rip. Like, you can curse. It could be about your dog, your. Your spouse, your mom, your sister, anybody. Just write this, write it out, burn it, and it literally, you will feel like a weight has lifted off of you. So I do that. I take that time off of myself, like, every single morning before I interact with anybody, before I'm picking up my phone, before I'm talking to my kids, but I'm doing anything.

[JoJo Simmons]

So, yeah, I'm going to. I'm going to try to implement that because I wake up in the morning and I do get my own time, whether that's rolling up a joint and I, you know. You know, and kind of. Kind of just, you know, just figuring out my day or just reading a book or reading a chapter in a book that I enjoy just to kind of make sure I'm focused on me first before I have to focus on everybody else. I think that's the biggest part for me is, like, if I could focus on me first, then everybody else can get 100% of me. But if I don't feel like 100% of me in the morning, you're not going to get that. And I don't want to give somebody that. No, I want to make sure I give them 100% of the best part of me.

[Mental Health Practitioner]

Right.

[JoJo Simmons]

You know, So I love that. I'm going to start burning papers in the morning.

[Euphoria Founder]

Please do.

[JoJo Simmons]

And I don't mean just rolling papers in a fire.

[Mental Health Practitioner]

Yes, you can do both.

[JoJo Simmons]

I could do both. I could smoke and burn the b.

See, I really love all of those answers. You can see how everybody has a different approach, but it all comes back to one thing, and that's taking Care of yourself. That's prioritizing your mental health and taking care of yourself first and making sure that you get the time to unload and rest before you overwhelm yourself with everything that's going on in your world. What practices or mindset shifts have been the most important for you in protecting your own mental health by helping others transform? You know, we're big on mental health and, you know, the for good universe, so we'd love to hear what you do while also helping others transform for your own mental health.

[Euphoria Founder]

Absolutely.

[Nail Artist]

Get you some hobbies, some hobbies that you weren't. That you will not turn into a business. Now, for me, I've been trying to turn everything into a business. I taught myself how to do nails during the panorama. And at one point I was, oh, I can charge people for this. And I had to tell myself, sis, sit down. This is a hobby. We are having fun with this thing. This is just for play. So what I tell people, especially now, because there are so many things that are happening that can and do impact our mental health. Get you some hobbies that allow you to just play. To play like you are a little kid, to let go of the pretense of the perfection of the, oh, I have to be this perfect being. Get you some hobbies that allow you to play. How I play is I do aerial hoop. And that's where you literally, you go to the studios and they have the hoops coming out of the ceiling and you have to hoist your little self up and then swing and do all the. That's how I play. It's one of the ways in which I play. Also, I do nails. Like, I come up. I have like 500 nail designs in my, my little Instagram little folders. And I just pick different designs. And I've been teaching myself. There is no actual professional teacher, but I've been teaching myself how to design nails because that's how I play. Figure out how are you going to play and then allow yourself make the space and time to play at least one hour a week. I'm not asking you for a lot. One hour a week. You just play. There is no responsibility. There is no oid bad. You're just playing. It allows you to release the pressure and remind yourself that not only are you a human, doing the best you can with what you got in this moment, but you deserve rest, you deserve play. Because in that you, I promise you, you will find productivity.

[Mental Health Advocate]

What have you done for your mental health lately? Or what do you do to keep your Mental, right.

Man.

[Community Member]

Take time for yourself. But a lot of people that are probably going through mental health, and that's Eric, because I've learned to do that living, being the only kid with my grandparents, with my father before and when my father passed away. So I've learned to sit here and cope with doing it myself. As a man, I might take a shower. I might just let it all out. I can't let my little ones ever see a weak point in me. You feel what I'm saying? So individuals like, hey, when do you care about yourself? I don't know. Maybe when I get in the shower, I'll give it a thought.

[Former Athlete]

Yeah.

[Community Member]

And when I do, it's when you're alone. Yeah. When I do travel, it's work, but it is, it is a peace of mind to sit here and be alone to do what rebuilds me. Because why I was a kid who grew up, as many siblings I got, they all could tell you, like, oh, yeah, him, yeah, he was the only one over there. Like he was the only child. He's spoiled, you know, but that's me. So if a person can't do it by getting alone and finding that time to just wooa and relax and do it, talk to somebody.

[Mental Health Advocate]

Right. You feel what I'm saying about setting boundaries?

[Entrepreneur]

Yeah.

[Community Member]

Let's set that person feel something off of you.

[Entrepreneur]

And I'm.

[Community Member]

When I say somebody, somebody, somebody that you trust and you generally care about, that you can sit here and be that open with. To sit here and let out those insecurities, stress holds or anything else. You know what I mean? And I would say go there.

[Mental Health Advocate]

And sometimes people don't have somebody to talk to. Then a therapist is also not a bad idea for somebody to look into. A lot of people, our community, I think, looks down on therapy, like where something wrong with us or something. But we don't need to look down. We need to look up to therapy because that's something that we can all use as a culture. Because we all deal with trauma. It don't matter if we come from a different tax bracket. We all deal with trauma. We all deal with PTSD of certain things. And we need to be able to let it out, especially black men. We need a space to let it out. And sometimes we need a space like this where it's just me and you talking. Or they need to go get a therapist or somebody that will really listen and just listen. Because therapy I found out and I don't have one yet, but I'm looking for one. It's really somebody just listening to you. And I think a lot of men don't feel heard. So just having somebody listen really helps. And it goes a long way. Even if you don't have the answer for that person, you listening and letting them just spill it all out, just help somebody.

[Community Member]

Yeah, you're right. Right, brother. And it's crazy you say that because.

Me and my siblings, that's what we needed. But you're right. In our society, you know, I mean, are living in a tough or urban area, it's looked upon as soft, you know, I mean, or we are not. We don't have the resources to have or know what that is.

[JoJo Simmons]

Right.

[Community Member]

Because you got to think kids that age, I was 10. The rest of them were younger. You know, Aaron E.B. was 3 years old. You know what I'm saying? So when they go through that, they.

[Mental Health Advocate]

Didn'T ever have to somebody they needed.

[Community Member]

Somebody to talk to, you know, I mean, and that's what messed us up. And as we get older, we understand that that's needed.

[Euphoria Founder]

Why?

[JoJo Simmons]

Because you.

[Mental Health Advocate]

You bring it with you as, you know, like, you thought, oh, I'm just sad. But sad is something mental. And it's a mental health thing where you need to figure out how to address it. And you just, you, you know, you guys carried it. You still carry it.

[Community Member]

You know, a lot of them do you feel? I'm saying, I love how in every.

[JoJo Simmons]

Episode, you can hear how everyone finds their own version of peace. There's no one way to take care of your mental health. Whether it's prayer, crying, moving your body or talking or walking or dancing, the key is showing up for yourself. Mental health is an everyday practice. The habits, the boundaries, the moments when you say, I need a minute and actually take it. Movement works for some, stillness for others. But it all comes down to choosing peace over pressure. So if you're listening, take a moment and ask yourself what brings you back to the center. Thank you for tuning in to the special for Good podcast. But like I always say, mental health isn't something you figure out once. It's something you practice daily. Be honest about what you need. Give yourself space to feel, and don't wait until you feel drained to take care of your mind. Appreciate y' all for listening. And as always, focus on the good, never the bad. Measure by what you do, not what you have, and make sure you take care of your mental health. See you guys on the next episode. Peace.