Season 3 Episode 2 (21): Enough To Live

Welcome to the Treat Us Right Podcast, Season 3 Episode 2 (21), Enough To Live.

Treat Us Right is the podcast for people who care for and about others. And when you care for others, you have to care for yourself as well. Learn modern self-care and caregiving techniques using the power of technology, data, and empathy to get extraordinary health for you and your loved ones.

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Episode Summary

In this episode, host David S. Williams III explores the dual meaning of the Enough To Live title, focusing on both personal stresses and financial realities inherent in shouldering healthcare situations. His inspiring message gives listeners the tools they need to thrive, not simply survive given their health and care needs.

Transcript: David S. Williams III (Host)

Welcome to the Treat Us Right Podcast. I am your host, David S. Williams III, and this is Season 3 Episode 2 #21 overall, Enough To Live.

In our last episode, we discussed the 3 Actions in Caring. If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, definitely give it a listen. It is foundational to this and following episodes. Trust me, It’s worth the 25 minutes. And if you like the Treat Us Right Podcast, subscribe and give us that 5-star rating!

OK. Let’s jump in! Enough to live. What does that mean? We’re going to explore this in two parts.

Part 1: Is it enough just to live?

When you’re in a challenging situation of ANY kind, but especially a personal health and/or family care challenge, is it enough for you just to live? Or do you want to BE ALIVE? Don’t you want to THRIVE? Not simply survive. 

To BE ALIVE, what are you willing to do? You have to GIVE to more than live.

What does that mean? GIVE to more than live? It means you have to

Give UP what harms you. 

Give IN to what helps you

Give GRACE to YOURSELF in the process

Give up what harms you. This means to recognize the behaviors that don’t promote health, positivity, and light in your life–and let them go. It’s really hard to change habits, I know. But doing so brings new joys and opportunities. You have to give UP harmful habits.

The best book on habit-changing I’ve read is Atomic Habits by James Clear. He shows how small, incremental changes over time can help you make major life changes. It works. 

You also may have to give up PEOPLE who don’t help you. Be real with yourself. You know who those people are in your life. The people who don’t support you are those who want you to stay the same. Who stagnate your growth. Who are only there when times are good. Who ask you for help, money, time, but never return the favor. We all have people in our lives who aren’t the best influences. And some of the times, they are THE. BEST. Sometimes we want to get into a little trouble. Have some fun. But when you’re in a health situation, be careful. Sometimes that fun can harm you. Choose the people who love you and truly want what’s best. Those who only take from you, give up. They’re not worth it, and you ARE.

Give in to what helps you. This acceptance of the new lifestyle will help you mentally adjust to the changes. Deep breaths. Feel what’s new. Like anything, learn the process, then make it yours. Own it! It’s your life.

One action that helps is visualization. We’re going to talk about that in our next episode, but you should be able to visualize what success looks like. What will you be able to do in this new lifestyle? See it. Feel it. Don’t focus on what you can no longer do. Focus on the future and see what it can be. You get to start anew. This is THE opportunity to redefine your life to live your best. Embrace it!

Give Grace. No one is perfect. You may trip along the way and revert back to some old habits. We all fall off the wagon once in a while. If that happens, give yourself grace about it. Don’t overreact or beat yourself up. Simply get back into the lifestyle as best you can. Move forward. Don’t make excuses, but try to avoid the trigger that caused you to revert. Remember from Episode 1, if you care, you have to remain persistent and REPEAT the behaviors that help you.

Avoiding triggers is the most important aspect of Giving Grace. We have an entire episode on Triggers. Once you recognize that you reverted to a behavior that can cause you harm or doesn’t help you, you have to recognize the trigger. Once you know the trigger, you can avoid it next time. You’ll feel better identifying the trigger and knowing that it hurts. That’s your grace. Understanding yourself and how triggers impact you–then take that knowledge and apply it for next time. Avoid the trigger–or if the trigger is unavoidable, don’t repeat the behavior. You can do it!

Is it enough just to live? Managing a chronic condition for yourself or a loved one (or both) requires changes. Give what it takes to BE ALIVE–Give Up, Give In, and Give GRACE.

See what BEING ALIVE means. Feel it. Embrace it. The new you can be better. 

It is NOT enough to live. You have to be alive. You have to Thrive to be alive.

Part 2: Do you have enough to live on? You see that?

Have you seen the latest economic data? It’s outstanding. Unemployment is low, wages are higher, consumer confidence is at a level not seen since the New Deal. Inflation is receding and housing prices are stabilizing. By all measures, the economy is in an excellent position. But why am I talking about the economy? What does it have to do with your every day?

This is where my MBA comes in really handy. There are inevitable financial realities to dealing with health situations. If you have enough to live on, meaning you’re independently wealthy–good for you. You’re not worried about these economic challenges. If you have a job and you’re working through your challenge–personal health, family care, both–then you have to deal with economic realities. Seniors face this all the time–but so do we in our working age. There are tradeoffs. There are sacrifices. Are you trading meals for meds? Are you sacrificing work hours for work at home? If you’re making trades, you don’t have enough to LIVE on.

I’m not judging. 99% of the entire planet is in this situation. But sometimes, just a little bit more money can make a major impact on your life. Here are some ways to increase your income to reduce your tradeoffs and sacrifices–to have enough to live on:

Get a job with a new company. We are in a tight labor market right now. That means demand for talent is at a high. Employers will PAY MORE for talent. Switching jobs can get you at least 20% more than you make now, especially if you’ve been in your job more than one year. Some people see increases of 50% or more. Imagine what 50% more money each month would do for you….

Caveat: Benefits. If your job benefits are so good, you should stay in your job even though you can make more elsewhere. My mother was in this situation. She could’ve made 40% more money at another job–she had the offers–but the hospitalization benefit at her current job was so good, given her health situation, it was worth it to stay in that job that paid less cash. 

The moral of that story is KNOW YOUR BENEFITS. Do you know your benefits, what is covered, what kinds of services you have access to? You may have access to services that really help you. 

If you’re switching jobs, you can also ask what the benefits are at the new company. They may have a golden benefit for your situation which makes them the perfect fit–AND you make more money. Imagine that….

Get a raise at your current job. It’s highly likely that you’re underpaid right now. In fact, people who are brought in AT YOUR LEVEL who are new probably make more money than you because of #1. The new person switched jobs. So if you find out someone new makes more than you–ask for a raise immediately. The company does NOT want to lose you. They just paid more for a new employee AND had to pay to HIRE that employee. It’s cheaper for them to keep you and give you a raise. Don’t be afraid to ask. If you’re a good performer, you should make more than the new person. Period.

Get a side hustle. This may or may not be feasible given your situation, but if you need extra money, there are more side hustles out there than ever. Imagine what an extra $1,000 a month would do. Here are some examples:

Uber/Lyft driver

Affiliate sales

Social content with ads

Tasking

Work Overtime. This is the same as side hustle–may not be feasible. BUT if you can free up some time, then working overtime pays more per hour. Sometimes it’s double time–but usually time and a half. 

In case it isn’t quite obvious, time is money. If you can get time, you can get money. The best way to deal with your health or care situation is to save TIME doing all the things that have to get done. Then you can make more MONEY. And the best way to save time is to GET ORGANIZED and GET HELP.

Want to connect about Thriving to be alive and/or having enough to live on from this episode? Here’s my personal email address–yes you can Email me directly at david@carethree.com all spelled out. 

I look forward to hearing from you. Feedback is always welcome. Please subscribe and if you like Treat Us Right, give us that 5-star rating! 

In our next episode, we are going to reveal, explore, and detail how to unleash an inner power, a hidden power that you’re definitely not using. AND we’re making a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT only for Treat Us Right listeners. Do NOT miss it. Thanks for listening. Give us that 5-star rating. Take care.