We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan MacFarlane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I truly believe my parents did a lot of things right, but as I have grown up, one of the biggest I’ve learned to appreciate is their ability to take ownership for doing things wrong. They have never once admitted to being perfect parents, and in fact, they often talk about how they wish they would have done things differently, but through everything, they stood by each other and loved their kids as hard as they could, even if they aren’t proud of every statement or choice along the way.

My parents figured out how to make opportunities for their kids possible, and my mom’s flexibility was a huge part of that. As educators, they had similar day-to-day schedules, but in the evenings, my dad was often coaching. His coaching schedule, especially during the winter and spring, meant he was missing family dinner, late getting home, or out of town. My mom served on the board and led trainings in the evenings for a group called SEED, Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity; she also taught a night class at a local university. My mom earned her masters before having kids and my dad earned his while coaching and the three kids in tow. Our house was filled with noise, making one more space at the table for anyone who needed it, and valuing education above all else.

So no, life wasn’t perfect, but at the end of each day, we knew we were loved, cared for, and had adults in our life who valued us both as their kids and as people too. There were no conversations too taboo to talk about, no emotions too hard to express, or questions to shy away from. Long car rides created intentional conversation, popcorn for dinner was a staple, and our house was open for anyone who needed a place to land.

Megan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi, I’m Megan! I’m a project manager by day and executive director by night. I spend my free time in my backyard gardening or playing with my dog, hanging out with friends, or doing house projects. I find joy in seeing my work turn into a product, which is why gardening, organizing, or DIY’ing my home has become a constant source of happiness for me. There is nothing better than crossing something off the to-do list or being able to say, “Look! I did that!”.

My full-time day job is working for Tellwell Story Co. as one of their project managers. I get to work with the most creative crew of colleagues who push each other to be the best versions of themselves each day, and they truly do it with so much love. I feel so lucky to work for a company who supports their employees as people in and out of the office. Fortunately for me, I first met them as a client.

I am the executive director of My Mind Matters (M3), and last year, we hired Tellwell to create an impact film about the work we do. M3 is working to equip youth athletes with mental wellness skills to perform their best in and out of sport. We started in 2019 as two hockey moms and a nanny (me) trying to implement an initiative into our local hockey program. Since then, we have evolved and grown more than we could have ever expected. Now, we host two hockey tournaments and a golf tournament, bring in speakers, share resources, and educate youth athletes on mental wellness skills through 7 different modules: goal setting, focus, mindfulness, grit, emotional regulation, imagery, and confidence. Due to the traction from the video Tellwell made last year, we will be tripling our engagement this upcoming season and working with more than 2,000 local athletes in our area. I am most proud of that – the growth, commitment from our youth community to be the best version of themselves, and the willingness we have had to say yes.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

The passion we bring to the conversation around implementing mental wellness skills and training into youth programming can make or break the conversation and experience for both the youth and the adults in their lives. We need the kids to buy in, because they truly aren’t buying into our program, but rather, they are buying into themselves and the idea they can control their own mental performance. If we are not passionate about the work we do, no one will believe in us, or more importantly themselves, enough to invest their time or energy.

The other component that is critical is recognizing we will never be 100% supported by everyone. There are adults who do not agree with the idea of naming a feeling to tame the feeling. While it isn’t the majority, there are a few in every crowd who dispute what we are working towards and to be successful, we must recognize that it is not a reflection of us, but rather a reflection of their beliefs. If we took every comment of disbelief or discouragement of our work to heart, we would be giving too much power to the very few. All that to say, a strong back bone and knowing what our guiding “North Star” is, our why for what we do, is vital to our success.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m 26 years old and the last 8 years of my life feel like they have been one pivot after another. I graduated high school in 2016 and saw the whole world as my oyster, but not my hometown – I had to leave. I felt that staying meant settling and I was not willing to do that, so I went 3.5 hours away to a big city. After my freshman year of college, I transferred to a new college only 2 miles down the road from where I grew up – the irony. The best part is that I still think it was one of the best choices I have ever made. I’ve never been more grateful to be wrong.

Throughout college I coached hockey, nannied, worked at a golf course, and tried retail work. In 2019, M3 started and little did I know how much my life was about to change direction. I graduated college in December of 2020 (which feels like it needs no explanation, cheers to Covid!) and began my first year teaching during the fall of 2021. I started coaching again, thought this was the perfect time to buy my first house, and by the end of June I decided being a plant parent was too boring, so I added my dog to the mix! Two years later, I am out of the classroom and using my educational background to teach athletes in the evenings about mental skills training. I work for a story-driven design & film company in the community that helped raise me, and am finishing my masters degree in Positive Coaching and Athletic Leadership. I believe the people in my life, whether for a short chapter or as a main character throughout its entirety, are the reason I have had the success I’ve experienced – my life and engagement with M3 would not be what it is today without the community I am part of or my willingness to pivot the path I am on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.m3breaktheice.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m3moorhead/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/m3moorhead
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/m3moorhead

Image Credits

Headshot: Britta the Photographer (Britta Trygstad)
Senior Night: Rick Westra