Mel Robbins and Health Equity

I started my 2025 reading list with Mel Robbins ' Let Them Theory (a good book but less built on a theory than a mantra). It is, admittedly, more geared toward your personal life but advocates for focusing on what you can control and releasing the need to manage others' actions and opinions.

Mel's approach can also be instrumental in your organization's health equity efforts:

1. Acknowledge external factors beyond your control. Certain policy decisions are beyond your control. Acknowledge this, but don't let it lead to frustration or burnout.
2. Focus on controllable factors. Direct your energy toward what you can control and where you can make an impact. Work with community organizations and support initiatives tailored to individual community needs. Raise awareness of health equity issues in your community and educate others on the effect of health disparities on healthcare costs and outcomes. Contribute your time and resources to organizations doing the work that you support.
3. Reframe challenges as opportunities. Shift your mindset to empowerment. Experiment with different approaches and innovative ideas. Build a strong case for your health equity initiatives with concrete examples using data and personal stories.
4. Build resilience. Accepting that some factors are beyond your control can help preserve mental and emotional well-being. Concentrate on meaningful actions and active engagement within your sphere of influence. Cultivate a support network of peers focused on health equity efforts.
5. Think long-term. Long-term strategies will always win over policy fluctuations. Keep communication channels open. Recognize that not everyone will share your view on health equity.

The Let Them Theory is a mindset tool. As Mel emphasizes in her book, you can't leave it at Let Them. You must finish with Let Me - and focus your energy on what you can control.

Healthcare leaders can take critical steps to support continued health equity efforts, such as embedding health equity metrics into performance dashboards, engaging diverse community voices, and advocating for policies that address health disparities. We hope our book, Socially Determined: The Healthcare Executive's Role in Health Equity, will inspire healthcare executives to lead these efforts with purpose and create environments where health equity is not just a goal but a measurable standard of care.