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1% Better Thayre Faust – Quick Links

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Key Takeaways

• Personal Crisis Leading to Purposeful Change: Thayre Faust shared her journey from a successful career in IT and corporate America to becoming a transformational life coach focused on mental and emotional health. This dramatic pivot was sparked by a personal tragedy—the suicide of her son during the COVID pandemic. This event led her to take a self-prescribed sabbatical to focus on her own mental health and reassess her life goals, ultimately deciding to serve her community by helping others improve their mental and emotional well-being.
• The Importance of Mental Health Awareness and Support: Faust emphasizes the critical need to normalize conversations around mental health and to provide support and understanding for those struggling. She highlighted the alarming statistic from the CDC that nine out of ten Americans believe the country is facing a mental health crisis, underscoring the urgency of addressing this issue.
• Transformative Power of Helping Others: Through her own healing process, Faust discovered that helping others significantly contributed to her recovery. She founded V.A.S.T. Possibilities to focus on life coaching, aiming to assist others in navigating their mental and emotional challenges. Her work includes sharing her story to inspire and educate, particularly emphasizing the importance of open discussions on difficult topics like suicide and depression.
• The Role of Personal Experience in Professional Credentials: Faust’s personal journey through grief and recovery adds a unique depth to her professional credentials as a life coach. She advocates for a balance between formal education and the invaluable insights gained from personal experiences, particularly when addressing mental health issues.
• Corporate Responsibility Toward Mental Health: The discussion also touched on the role of the corporate world in supporting mental health. Faust and the host, Craig Thielen, explored how businesses can improve their approach to employee well-being, including encouraging breaks, unplugging from technology, utilizing PTO effectively, and ensuring health insurance policies adequately cover mental health services. This segment highlights the growing recognition of mental health as a critical component of overall employee health and the necessity for corporate policies to reflect this understanding.

1% Better Thayre Faust – Transcript

[00:00:06.840] – Craig
Hello, I’m Craig Thielen, and this is the 1% Better Podcast. Today I’m speaking with Thayre Faust. Thayre is a Transformational Life Coach and Founder of V.A.S.T. Possibilities. Thayre also has a long history in the corporate world, both from a business and technology standpoint. And she’s been a client of ours several times in different organizations. Thayre, welcome to 1% Better.

[00:00:29.530] – Thayre
Thanks. I’m excited to be participating this podcast with you and Trissential. I really appreciate the invitation.

[00:00:35.700] – Craig
Well, I’m looking forward to it. We talk a lot about a lot of different topics, but in our business, being management consultants, we talked a lot about business improvement and help companies organize better, prioritize better, use technology better. All these kinds of things that we talk about in the corporate world is a very common topic, but today it’s going to be very different. In some ways, a much more personal, much more serious set of topics. But I still think it’s very relevant to this notion of 1% better as humans and how we can really look at personal and professional development. And so I want to jump into that just right out of the gates because we only have usually 35 minutes or so together, and I think it’s a very impactful topic. So you decided to really shift your life focus a number of years back from the traditional career on one side and family to just really a different focus in life around giving back and helping others. And I’m going to just describe that story, that journey of what led up to that, and then why you made that life choice.

[00:01:40.100] – Thayre
Sure. Yeah. I mean, I had a 25-plus-year career, in IT corporate America, and during the COVID pandemic, my life took a drastic turn. And I experienced a very traumatic event that left me to taking what I call a self-prescribed, sabbatical, to focus on my own mental health and reassess my goals. I always knew that my next chapter, when it came up, that it was going to be something to serve my community and make the world better kind of thing. But it was during that downtime, I’ll call it that self-prescribed sabbatical, where I looked inward in terms of what do I really want and what do I want to give? And I can share a little bit more about that story and that journey.

You see, nearly three years ago, August of 2020, I received a phone call that no one ever wants to get. I was driving down the interstate I-94. I was headed to a lunch appointment with some work colleagues that I had just hired. And call came on my cell phone. And that caller ID indicated that it was from the city where my son was going to school. So of course, I answered the call, and it was a police officer calling to inform me that my son had died by suicide earlier that morning, and I needed to come and identify him and make arrangements with the funeral home, et cetera. I panicked, I cried, I screamed, and the police officer is like, Where are you exactly? I’m like, I’m driving down the freeway. So he calmed me down and got me off the freeway into a safe spot, and we talked about it. But it was the worst call of my life and how I got through those first days, hours. I really can’t tell you. I mean, you just get through them. I actually returned to work after three weeks or so of bereavement.

I want to tell a little bit of contextually to share this part of the story, because when I came back, my employer at that time expected that I would what they call, be better. I put that in quotes, like I don’t even know you’re going to be better. And I guess I was better. I mean, I was the best I could be under the circumstances, but those words were really not good messages to hear. And then a couple of months later, we parted ways. I mean, in light of my family tragedy, they described it and that business wasn’t going as well, that we should just part ways. And it was hard. And the pandemic gave me an opportunity to hibernate without having to answer questions or deal with much. I could do it without anybody knowing. And so during that time, it wasn’t easy, and I walked away from it. And I just really needed that time to heal and nurture my soul. And in that, I’ve always been an advocate for mental health, but this turn of events made me prioritize that to the top.

And so it was therefore, with a lot of intention, thoughtful intention, I decided to launch this Vast Possibilities. It will be a life coaching business where I can focus of on helping others improve their own mental and emotional health. I found for me, anyways, my own best healing happens when I help others. And so I decided to do that so I can help others be the best versions of themselves. I mean, I’ve been on both sides of pain and growth, and I would like to help my clients achieve that then too.

[00:05:05.220] – Craig
Well, thank you for sharing that. As a parent, I can’t imagine, I don’t think any parent can ever imagine getting a call like that. I’m very sorry for you. Two things come to mind. One is just how grateful and inspired I am that you’re able to take something that’s so tragic and find some goodness, turn it into how you can help others. I think that’s very inspiring. And then I go, well, how do I even respond to you? And my question is, do you find that being a common occurrence where people don’t know what to say and they don’t know, should I feel sorry for you or should I encourage you? Is that one of the things that we need more education? Because how do you even talk to someone who’s gone through such a tragedy?

[00:05:54.220] – Thayre
Yeah. I mean, Craig, there are really no words. And I tell people there are no words, and you can’t solve it for somebody and for them. Each of us grieve differently and we heal differently, but it’s to be there for them, be present, get on their level, and just knowing that people cared was such a big deal. But as part of this new role with a mental health advocacy too, I look at it as we need to normalize the conversation about mental health. The CDC reported recently that nine out of ten Americans believe that we are in a mental health crisis. We came out of the pandemic, it was tough, and I don’t think we realized the full ramifications of all that, but we need to be able to talk about it and have conversations about it and let people know it’s okay to not be okay. I tell people, if you fell off the curb and you twisted your leg and sprained your ankle or whatever and you needed a cast, would you go get it fixed? Or if you chipped a tooth, would you go to the dentist? Of course you would, right? And it’s the same with our mental health. And we need to let people know that it’s okay to go for services for that. It’s okay to ask for help. So oftentimes, there’s a misnomer that asking for help is a sign of weakness. It is actually not. It’s a sign of strength.

[00:07:17.990] – Craig
I’m curious. I mean, it feels to me like over the past five years even, there’s talking about mental health before that we hardly even did it. It was not a mainstream conversation. It was a hidden thing. Or someone’s depressed or someone, Oh, you need medication. But it seems like a lot of progress has been made in the last five years that it is absolutely talked about a lot more today mental health. I’m curious, what’s your perspective? I mean, you’re really deep into this topic and the statistics and living through it and then trying to help others through it. Have we made meaningful progress? And what do we need to continue to do? Is it keep talking about? Is it more education? But what’s your perspective on that?

[00:08:03.870] – Thayre
Yeah, I got this story from a training that I went to, and I like to use it to give perspective on where people’s head are around mental health and depression. Okay, so in your mind’s eye, I want you to go to a place where there’s a lot of people. At a conference where you’re in a presentation room or at church on Sunday, whatever it is where there’s a lot of people. And imagine everybody in the room counting off by fives. And then you say all the 1, 3s, and 5s stand up. So you got that visual picture? See how many people are standing up? That’s the number of people that believe that depression is a weakness. Still today. Still today, right? It started startling that people still today feel that way. And you’re right, years ago, I think generationally, mum was the word, we didn’t talk about it, right? I mean, my own father died by suicide when I was quite, quite young, and we never, ever, ever, ever, ever. I mean, it was just not talked about. But today, I think we are talking about, and I think younger people are talking about it more.

I think one of the great things that I’ve had the opportunity to do is to go into classrooms and share my story with them and share with them. It’s okay to not be okay. And I have this presentation I put together. The first part is my story. The second part is facts and figures, myths and truths around suicide and depression, because the numbers are startling. I mean, I can share some of those. And then the third part of it is about what can we do to help ourselves and help others. And so we just have to keep talking about it and make it okay to talk about it. And some people might be uncomfortable with my sharing. I know there’s people in my own family that are uncomfortable with my sharing. But I believe that in sharing our stories, it gives people permission to share their stories.

[00:10:05.160] – Craig
Absolutely. I don’t think there’s any question about that. And so that’s one of the things I wanted to ask you is, again, you went through some very, very difficult to say the least. There’s a whole roller coaster of emotions, I’m sure. At what point did you go? You know what? I’m going to do something about this. I am going to do that. It’s not easy to share. It’s not easy for anyone to share their weaknesses. It’s an Instagram world, right? It’s a Facebook world where everything’s amazing. You always take these great pictures, and only when you’re on vacation and when you’re with friends. And that’s the world you mentioned kids. I think kids, they live in two different worlds. They live in this perfect world where everyone’s having this amazing time and everyone’s perfect, but they also live in a world that they do talk about like, hey, therapy. They talk about therapy like, well, everyone should go to therapy, and that’s normal. When I was a kid, I didn’t even know what therapy was. It’s like physical therapy. And so they have lots of access to things good and bad. But when did you know this was just something I have to do?
And then talk a little bit. And I do want to get into the facts and figures and myths. I think that’s going to be really interesting. And then talk a little bit about what you’re doing with your company, Vast Possibilities and how you’re going to do good with it and how that works.

[00:11:24.160] – Craig
Yeah. I’ll tell you the catalytic event for me. I’ve been thinking about doing coaching at different points in my career as part of my next chapter and things like that. And I thought maybe I would do more business coaching, executive coaching or something like that. But it was actually when I was in a classroom and I was talking to some kids about this. And after I was there, the teacher had sent me a note saying, hey, some of the kids made you a card and want to send it to you, right? And I was like, okay, here’s my address. And I came home one day to three huge, thick envelopes. And I opened them up on my back porch after I had been all sweated up from working in the yard. And I opened them up and I started reading them and I was just balling. I was just crying my eyeballs out. And to hear these kids play back things that I had shared with them and to have them share my story or to share their own stories, excuse me, it was like they felt like they were heard, that they had somebody. And I’m like, This is now a calling. I felt like I need to get off the couch and take action. I wasn’t ready for it early on. To be frank, I went to therapy after my son passed away. And I remember in my last session with my therapist, I was telling her like, Hey, I’m thinking about doing… And at the time it was going to be more professional coaching. And I’m like, I’m trying to think about how to name my business. And we were talking about it. And I knew I wanted Vast. I mean, not many people will know, but it really is the initials of my kid’s name and my own, V-A-S-T. So it means big and broad and wide.

[00:13:11.500] – Craig
That’s personal. It’s not just a cool name. It’s very personal.

[00:13:15.450] – Thayre
And I said, I was thinking opportunities, but that’s not it. We were just brainstorming for a minute. And then she said, possibilities. And I’m like, yes, yes, yes, that’s it, because all things are possible to put some energy around it. And so that’s how I came up with the name. And I’ve got a lot of life experiences that give me some cred, and I have a master’s in Ed Psych that gives me some cred. We all need to sharpen our saw. So I embarked on a journey to also get certified, and then see if there’s particular certifications around mental health as well. And I took some thoughtfulness around, what do I want to be in this? And I thought, is it counselor therapist? Is it consultant? Is it coach? And I want to differentiate between the three of them, right? I mean, a counselor therapist is more about looking at your past and helping you work through your past.

[00:14:12.700] – Craig
A lot of it goes back to childhood, right?

[00:14:15.060] – Thayre
Right. And two, they can diagnose and they can prescribe medications, et cetera, but they are looking the past. And then consultant is more an expert, right? So that’s like really studied about it and do research around it. I’m like, That’s not me either. But Coach is all about you don’t have to be the expert, right? And it’s all about asking the tough questions and helping someone ask the questions that they’re afraid to ask themselves and help them navigate around that. It’s very future oriented. That’s why I came to this Vast Possibilities. My area of focus, I haven’t nailed it yet, but I certainly feel called to serve those who have experienced grief or loss, and that grief can come through the loss of a loved one. It can be a loss of a job. It can be a mental health. I’m not a mental health, I’m just going to say, just even a health scare of any sort. It could be a job loss. So helping people look forward from those experiences and navigate to a better possibility.

[00:15:24.560] – Craig
So I’m curious, and obviously your cred is you’ve lived it, and that’s as big of a credential as anything because there’s a lot of things, life experiences that until you live it, you just can’t understand it. Like drug addiction or there’s a number of different things. So I’m curious, though, you mentioned you looked at certifications. I know there’s lots of coaching certifications around life coaching, but did you find that there’s some good ones in the mental health space?

[00:15:54.990] – Thayre
Yeah, there are some out there in the mental health space. And before I can really nail those, I do need to get just the basic coaching certification, right? And there’s different programs out there. There’s one that I’m looking at that is really cool. I don’t know if scheduling wise fit my time frame, but what I really liked about it is there’s a lot of focus around rigorous speaking and listening skills, right? And hearing and saying things to help disarm a relationship and get people to open up and talk, right? And then there’s a second part of it where you go through your own personal transformation, right? You’re going to experience your own breakthroughs while you’re going through this training. And then there’s another part of it where it just produces what you hope to get out of it. Do you want to get the certification? Do you want to have the hours in that can move you to becoming certified and things like that. Because it’s a pretty unregulated industry out there, but there are creds that you can get. Yeah, there’s a movement toward it more and more. And I think anybody can do well having a coach.It’s a sounding board, right? It’s somebody maybe that’s not as close to you that you don’t feel pressured to say certain things or not say certain things, right?

[00:17:15.560] – Craig
Yeah. Well, let’s get into the actual reality of what’s happening in the world. And I’ll give you a few stats here that I was able to pull. I’d love to get through to feedback some myths or what you’re seeing, because I know you’re steeped in this. But the ones that I pulled that I just thought were astounding. So one in five US adults will experience a mental health condition every year. That’s 20% of our population every year. More than 50% will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime. That’s astounding. Half of us at some point not only are going to experience it, but be diagnosed. One in 25 American lives with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar or major depression, very serious disorders. And the one that also blew my mind, one in four teens have thoughts about suicide. So again, when you really think about that, you put yourself in a room like you described, half of the room is experiencing these issues, and we don’t know about it. And so give me your perspective and maybe some of the myths that we know or don’t know.

[00:18:26.630] – Thayre
Yeah. Well, first of all, we have to remember there’s no single cause for a mental illness. So there’s a number of factors that contribute to it. It can be some adverse childhood experiences where they experience maybe there’s a history of abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse. They may have witnessed violence. And in fact, there’s an astounding figure about youth and guns. Maybe I’ll share that in a bit. But could be experiences that have been ongoing and chronic, right? It could be a medical condition that has got them depressed because they don’t see what the possibilities are in terms of recovery, right? It could be biological. I mean, we could just be born with it. We could have inherited something and not know it. And there’s certainly then the influence of alcohol and drugs. And just think of coming out of the pandemic and the feelings of isolation and loneliness that we really didn’t get to socialize in ways that we were used to normally, right? So all of those things can cause mental illness. There’s nothing that you can pinpoint down and say, if we solve that, we’ve got it nailed. There are just so many factors that come into play.

Some of the numbers that I share specifically in my story, because it’s personal, and I talk about for suicide, it used to be the number two reason for use. I mean, the first would be accidents and things like that, and then suicide would be the second one for use. Now really, it’s been bumped down to third. But yet the numbers are high. In fact, they’re growing. But the number two problem is gun violence, and it just knocked me off the feet. There’s just so much going on out there related to that.

[00:20:19.690] – Craig
Why do you think it’s growing? Because I think the numbers do show that at every age level, especially kids, that it is growing the last couple of decades. And what do you think is causing that?

[00:20:32.710] – Thayre
God, I wish I had the answer for that, right? I mean, I think there’s just so many factors I contribute. I think social media and the space that people put on my life is perfect, and then I try to measure myself to that, right? We’re comparing it more. Our lives are not necessarily our own. People can vary in a very public way, share things true or not true, that it’s hard to recover from. I mean, there’s just so many factors that would be hard to nail any one of them.

[00:21:06.090] – Craig
There’s lots of theories out there, but one that I hear often is technology, and we’re all addicted to our phones. And again, we’re in this Instagram world where everyone’s perfect. And it just makes you feel like, well, if I’m not that person, the Kardashian’s or name anyone or even your friends, then I’m less than them. You compare yourself to others. And there’s actually a physical connection in the way that these applications with likes and all these, it creates dopamine, which is the same drug that’s released in your brain when you do things like alcohol or drugs or something. It’s a stimulant. And so there’s a lot. That’s how these things are designed is to give. And so it puts people on a role- You get.

[00:21:51.250] – Thayre
A risk from it, right? Yeah. And you get a certain level of high. I mean, think of it, though. You’re getting more high off of technology than spending time in nature.

[00:22:01.490] – Craig
Exactly. And it’s, yeah, so you get that instant feedback. But then you say, okay, that makes sense. I think we can all see that. In fact, we all, even as adults, get addicted to our phone sometimes. But think about where things are going with AI and think about the metaverse. That’s a hundred times more artificial, more powerful, more like you’re literally in another reality. Not even looking at your phone, but you can still see the window. You can still see you’re completely immersed. And how is that? I mean, you would think that’s even going to make this go even worse because people are going to be disconnected altogether with humans and the earth and plants and flowers and animals and whatnot.

[00:22:41.140] – Thayre
Yeah. I mean, if I was just walking ahead, I had to go to the store for something a couple of weeks ago, and I walked into a mall and it was like a morgue. And I remember when we were younger, that was the place we would go to hang out and we would socialize and we would be with people. And now what do people say? Oh, I’ll look it up. I’ll buy it off Amazon. Right? People aren’t interacting with people. And humans by nature need connections. You need connections. And this metaverse and this altered reality and things like that. I mean, we need to get outside. Our kids need to jump in mud puddles. Right.

[00:23:23.850] – Craig
Get some germs on us.

[00:23:25.420] – Thayre
Right. Get some germs and play. We need to figure out how to entertain ourselves.

[00:23:29.890] – Craig
One thing I heard is that in Japan, sometimes our healthcare system doesn’t help us because for every malady you have, it’s either a prescription drug or some procedure, right? Rarely do we go to root cause, but we say, how do we mask it? But in Japan, they actually will prescribe, doctors will prescribe time in nature for many diagnoses. And I thought that’s incredible, right? Because it’s a fact. I mean, it’s proven through studies that as soon as you go into nature, all of your vitals get better, and your blood pressure and your stress. And that’s because it’s what we’ve been doing for millions of years versus we haven’t been living in cities with Wi-Fi, blasted in our brains for very long. It’s a new thing. So I thought that’s really incredibly like why wouldn’t we do that?

But let me get to a couple of topics that I want to give people some really practical from your expertise and your experience. Let’s say again, the stats are just overwhelming. We put ourselves in any room, half of the room is going to be experiencing some issue or problem. We all have senses as humans. We sense something’s off. We sense something’s wrong, whether it’s with our children or whether it’s with a friend or coworker. What advice would you give? Let’s start with parents. You know something’s not right with your kids. Whether they seem depressed or something’s off, how advice would you give them to how to address those things?

[00:25:03.480] – Craig
Yeah. First of all, you got to let them know you care about them. You love them, right? They need to know that you really care about and love them, and reassure them around that, and let them know that help is available. And if they’re not comfortable getting that help from you, but there’s other places to go to get treatment and to get help. And it’s important to go, just as it is important to go for those physical ailments, it’s important to get that help if you have mental health issues. Ask questions. Listen, be responsive. Be present. Take advantage of those car rides when they can’t walk away from you and leave the room. Have some tough conversations and make it okay to talk about that tough stuff and make it okay to let them know too by demonstrating it yourself. You need to prioritize self-care, right? And then for anybody, I believe strongly in having a support network and build up that group of people that are important to you. I have a tribe of gal pals, I tell you, where we check in on each other nearly daily. And one of the most recent shares from the group that I posted on a mirror says it best. The best friendships are lady friendships where you believe in each other, you defend each other, and you think the other deserves the whole world, right? I mean, we just have to let people know we care and we’re there for them.

[00:26:32.320] – Craig
Let’s talk about it. That’s what you’re saying, right? Just children are going to want to talk about their problems or issues, but just talk. Just give them opportunities. Let them know you love them. Don’t ignore.

[00:26:44.460] – Thayre
Yeah. And we need to, as I said before, normalize the conversation, right? We need to increase awareness. We need to reduce the stigma and isolation about depression, right? And I believe in sharing my story will save a life. I’ve got an entrepreneur that I’ve been working, not working with, but I’ve got to know while I’ve been networking in this space. And he launched a project, Roll the Dice, where he wants to get this project game and to every household, and it’s to motivate action and try things and share experiences. And he goes, I want to get it into every household of America. And I’m like, Rock on, you go. And he’s like, So Thayre, what are your goals? And I’m like, I just want to save one life.

[00:27:32.220] – Craig
Yeah. That’s an amazing goal. I mean, think about it.

[00:27:35.440] – Thayre
Right. And so I just think we have to care about people, right? And one of my new mantras is his world where you can be anything, be kind.

[00:27:47.410] – Craig
Yeah.

[00:27:48.280] – Thayre
Right. There’s just so much judgment out in the world, and so much labeling and finger pointing. I mean, the whole world is very polarized and just divisive right now. And if you just think about it, the simple matter of just being kind.

[00:28:04.830] – Craig
Let’s apply that to the corporate world, because a lot of our listeners are leaders, business leaders, technology leaders. What is the corporate world on this topic of mental health, I know we all have it as part of our healthcare programs now, but what are we getting right in the corporate world with regards to mental health? And then what can we do better? You’re leading the team, you’re a decision maker in a company. What can we do better?

[00:28:29.920] – Thayre
Yeah. Do I believe things are being done? Yes. But can more be done? Absolutely. And just as we have to do continuous improvement in our business world, we have to do continuous improvement in terms of how we serve in this area. So some things that I think about just to level up and support our employees’ psychological wellbeing is… we could offer mental health first aid training to employees, right? It’s an evidence-based program that teaches people how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health issues and substance use challenges, right? So I think we could do that. And it doesn’t take a lot of commitment to do that. I know it’s dollars and cents, but in the long run, it will save you bigger dollars, I believe, because you’re not paying other expenses if you’re serving them away.

[00:29:29.830] – Craig
And we do all sorts of training. Today we do discrimination training, and we now do artificial intelligence training. Why wouldn’t we do mental health training? I think that’s a great idea.

[00:29:41.150] – Thayre
And so some other ones too. And you nailed it or you said something before, we’re all attached, right? So we need to encourage our employees to just unplug. Simple things like take short breaks throughout the day. I mean, so much of us are working on a computer all the time, right? Let’s step away, unplug from that. We need to create cultures that encourage people to use their PTO. Some people have it as a badge of honor. I haven’t taken a vacation in five years. Go me. I’m like, no, that’s bad. So provide company-wide mental health days, maybe separate vacation days from paid sick leave. I don’t know. And other things I think about, like almost are working around the clock because we are attached to our devices. There’s so much we can do on our phones that off the clock, lead by example, as a leader or a supervisor, don’t send off our emails to your team because then they have to respond. I mean, do a delay send, but just don’t do that. Those are things, I think fairly simple. And when we listen to what our employees, what their feedback, really listen to them and take their feedback into account, communicate with them.

And you said it too. I mean, we need to continue to take that critical look at equity, diversity, and inclusion policies. It’s frightening that some organizations are stepping away from that, and I’m like, That doesn’t sound too good to me. Organizations should constantly be reexamining their health insurance policies so that they’re focusing on mental health. I mean, they should… I just read something recently that there’s a mental health parity and addiction equity act which requires health insurers to provide coverage for mental health, behavioral health, and substance use disorders that is comparable to physical health coverage.

[00:31:45.210] – Craig
Interesting.

[00:31:46.470] – Thayre
So it’s something that I think companies should be looking at.

[00:31:50.500] – Craig
That recognizes the normality of it. If half the people are experiencing issues, it’s more based on… Half people aren’t probably experiencing physical ailments, so it’s recognizing as a real challenge. Well, as time flies by, as always. And so we have the last question here for you, on 1% Better, which is just looking at your life and you can put it in the context of mental health or even broader. What is your best piece of advice to the young version of you, you wish you knew when you were 18 or you’re speaking to your grandkids or young people going, this is one thing I want to pass on, words of wisdom, life lesson. What would it be?

[00:32:36.100] – Thayre
Oh, my gosh. That’s a really big question because there really are so many things. So I’m probably not going to stick to one. But I would say, first of all, spend time on your relationship with God. Faith is number one. And I know that in my time of grief, that relationship was challenged. I was asking, why me? It’s not fair, but that is all important. And then I think too, aligning to the 1% improvement is thinking about it happens by just taking it the first step. I mean, I remember some days I was so overwhelmed and everything. And I don’t have to climb the whole stairwell. I just need to take the first step. So just take some level of action, right? I would also say we need to prioritize self-care, put ourselves first. We need to slow down. We need to savor the little things. And as I said before, I’ll leave this one too, is make friends a priority. It’s important to surround yourself with people that lift you up. I recently attended a seminar or something about how to make your retirement the best it can be. And it was a lot of stuff like what we’re talking about right here, right now. I mean, as we get older, we’re more isolated, our friends are passing way… But a big thing that says is you need to keep and make friends throughout your whole life. And so surround yourself with people that lift you up. And I’ll say it’s okay to walk away from those that don’t. We should lean into those relationships because attention is the most basic form of love.

[00:34:21.830] – Craig
Well, that’s all great advice. So thank you again, Thayre, for sharing your story. And one thing I’m positive, 100% positive of is that if you keep sharing your story and keep doing what you’re doing, you’re going to save a lot more than one life. You’re going to impact and save a lot of lives. So thank you.

[00:34:41.230] – Thayre
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity to be part of this initiative. I love it. I’ll keep listening to it.

[00:34:45.490] – Craig
All right. Thank you.

[00:34:46.830] – Thayre
Thank you.