"This Is It! Surviving and Thriving: Season One Concludes

We close season one by tracing how small order, honest support, and micro habits help us move from survival toward steadier ground without chasing perfection. The theme is simple and stubborn: accept where you are, build tiny anchors, and keep paying it forward.

• defining thriving as mindset, not destination

• order over chaos through tiny tools and routines

• taking a beat to exit survival mode

• shifting from all-or-nothing to micro habits

• acknowledging real survival needs and inequity

• asking for and offering help without judgment

• choosing acceptance, gratitude, and non-comparison

• depth over algorithms and sustainable growth

• season two focus on steadier foundations 

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Podcast listeners receive a special offer of 20% off of three months of our 4WYNS home reset and laundry services at thrivingyinzers.com.

Chapters

• 0:00 Season One Reflections
• 2:45 Defining Thriving As A Mindset
• 5:20 Order Over Chaos: Small Tools
• 9:30 Taking A Beat To Exit Survival
• 13:20 Micro Habits Beat All-Or-Nothing
• 17:10 When Survival Is Not A Metaphor

Transcript

Sherry : 0:00

Well, this is it. I can't believe it, but here we are at our last episode of season one. We really want to say thank you to all of you who have joined us all along the way. Or if you're just finding us now, we really appreciate the support.

Jodi: 0:17

Season one has been about life. Messy, complicated, sometimes unfair.

Sherry : 0:23

When we started this podcast, we had an intention. We wanted to remind people that even when life feels out of control, there is growth, meaning, and joy still to be found, even in the struggle. And we wanted to talk about what it means to be a Yinzer. Not as the stereotype, but as the mindset. Crossing four lanes of traffic in a matter of seconds. It's nerve-wracking and uncomfortable, but we do it anyway because that's how you get where you're going along the way. You notice who's struggling. We help each other get through. And you recognize that this is it. This is where you are today. Make the best of what you've got right here, right now.

Jodi: 1:16

Not because life's easy. It isn't. Suffering is part of the human experience. Everyone faces rough spots, everyone hits walls, everyone stumbles in the muck. But Thriving Yinzer's keep getting back up, leaning on support, finding meaning along the way, even when life is a shit show.

Sherry : 1:33

This season we explored illness, loss, burnout, change, and just uncertainty. Sometimes progress came step by step, and sometimes barely at all, but people showed us that when they were ready, they could rise on their own terms. Across season one, we heard stories shaped by trauma, health crisis, grief, addiction, and overwhelm. What stood out in those stories was persistence, people adapting, saying, This is where I am, I'm still here, and even when it might not feel like it, it's going to be okay.

Jodi: 2:15

We also heard stories of growth, not just in what people did for themselves, but in how they leaned on others, found spaces that supported them, and used small tools to make life manageable, like calling a friend when you're overwhelmed, spending five minutes in a quiet spot to just gather your thoughts, using a planner, a habit tracker, even a simple laundry routine to stay steady. One listener shared how keeping her keys in the same spot each day gave her a tiny sense of control.

Sherry : 2:45

It might seem silly, but that small habit made it easier for her to notice options she hadn't seen before. That's thriving in zero energy, showing up for yourself, often unseen, often uncelebrated. And that's exactly what makes it powerful. Thriving looks different for everyone, and there's no one size fits all prescription. We're not qualified to give prescriptions anyway. But one thread did run through every conversation this season, and that was that our minds do thrive on order and we struggle through chaos.

Jodi: 3:18

When life's chaotic, too many demands, constant stress, uncertainty, your brain shifts into survival mode. Planning stops, dreaming fades, all that's left is reacting.

Sherry : 3:28

And reaction doesn't move you forward.

Jodi: 3:31

No, it really doesn't.

Sherry : 3:32

But what can help is even small pieces of order, like a clear counter, a planner, a spot for your keys. That helps you start from a calmer place, which helps when the shit hits the fan. And contributes to helping you be able to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting or blowing up in a moment of stress.

Jodi: 3:56

Right. Because when you're reacting to you're most of the time, if you're gonna react, it's not going to be from the best place. It's just you know, being reactionary often leads to bad decisions, bad impulses, hurt feelings, whatever it is. When you give yourself that support, you give your brain the signal it needs to step out of survival mode by taking the beat. And you always can. There's always a way to take a beat, right? You can always step away, you can always find five minutes. And again, we're not all in the same place. And and there's always a situation where somebody would be able to say, Well, that won't work for me, or it didn't work for me in this situation. You know, give yourself the grace that you would give to someone else. Give yourself that chance to step out of survival mode. Create your space for clarity, for decisions, for noticing the small joys around you because you deserve it. Yep. And I mean, the magic is in the consistency. I just looked down at my planner for this week, and I have on the top of it written down, you become what you do consistently. And it's the truth. Those small pieces of order will combine. And you combine that with supportive people, places, things. It all compounds over time. You create the space for better decisions, new habits, and eventually the ability to support others too. I've been on a thing where I kept telling myself that if I couldn't exercise for at least one hour a day, four days a week, I might as well not do anything at all because I was doing more harm and good. And I told myself all these, you know, the things you tell yourself. And I started to do those like micro habit workouts where I just for maybe five minutes or something, I do something, or you know, uh extra movements while I'm doing dishes. And all of those small things have prompted me to have a little bit more energy and I keep going. And I think I mean that's the thing, it doesn't always have to be all or nothing. Yeah, and I think that's what by default, that's what we do. It's all or nothing. Um and it's taken a while for me to realize that those just those little tiny sessions do help. Exercise doesn't have to be all or nothing. Those little sessions throughout the day, they still move the needle. And quitting, that's when we quit, when we think that it has to be all in or it's just not worth it. Right. And we've been talking about getting out of survival mode and being more intentional. Um, but we also need to remember that when we talk about survival, we are not just speaking metaphorically. Some people are worried about food, rent, heat, medical bills, and even whether their child will make it home safely each night. Right. When basic needs aren't being met, thinking about routines, habits, long-term planning, it feels so out of reach and and in some ways irrelevant. This is a reality for so many people right now. But right now doesn't mean forever. Life comes in seasons, and this one will pass. Yeah. We know that thriving begins when survival is stabilized. And sometimes that simply means making it through the basics of housing, food, and safety. And sometimes it means crisis survival when critical illness or family tragedy is present and it takes all available capacity just to stay upright. So how can we even talk about thriving? What we mean is this we see you, we see you not giving up, we see you lifting someone else up, and sometimes that's the bravest form of thriving there is. And acknowledging that matters, especially when we use a word like Yinzer, which belongs to all of Pittsburgh. The city includes people in every circumstance. And even if you are feeling like you're in stuck in survival mode and you are concerned about all of the basics, the fact that you're still here that counts. And when we talk about thriving yinzers, we're talking about an identity that you carry even on the hardest days. Yep. And remember, our own Mr. Rogers said, look for the helpers. And remind yourself if you are in a place to help, even small support in what you think might be insignificant can really make a difference in someone's life. Absolutely. Hardship doesn't land the same for everyone. And I think the first thing is accept where you're at. No matter how shitty it is, accept this is where you're at. And that's that's big. It's big and it's powerful. And asking for help or it even admitting that you need help, that's that's strength, that's courage. That's the inner energy that that we're talking about. And it's also recognizing that we don't all start from the same place. No, where you start doesn't define who you are. It's how you keep showing up. That's what defines you, not what happens to you. It's it's how you respond. It's also in how you respond to others who didn't start from the same place as you. I think that's important. It is. It's it's paying it forward, right? You get yourself out of the muck, don't forget where you came from and turn around and help pull the next person back up. Yeah. The thriving does grow out of survival when you choose asking for support or supporting someone else over the chaos.

Speaker: 9:30

Doing hard things doesn't always look heroic. Sometimes it's just stopping. Sometimes it's leaning on people, places or things that let you keep showing up. And that can come from we talked about this earlier, uh, people, which is asking for or accepting help from those who are available, places, spaces in your home or community that restore calm, things like tools, routines, habits that keep life moving and lower your stress. And like Jodi said, when you do find your footing, helping the person behind you, but without judgment, without forgetting where they're coming from. And if you are just surviving right now, that counts too. Getting through the day, managing your symptoms, holding it all together for your family, staying upright, it's moving you toward something better. Right? Wherever you are, there's something you're learning and something that you'll one day pass on. Yep, and that's that paying it forward. So season one stood for this. This is the life that you're living right now. When we talk about this is it, that's what we're saying. This is the life that you're living right now. Maybe it's not the one you planned. It's probably not the one you imagine. That's what they say. Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. But it's the one that's here. And you can build a life that fits the season and circumstances that you're in without waiting for someday while life is passing by. One person's version of a full life isn't the same as another's, and it doesn't need to be. No. And sometimes we need to remind ourselves that there is always room to be grateful somewhere, and that begins with accepting what is and holding on to just quiet hope, even when maybe nothing feels certain. And then strength does show up when you stop measuring yourself against how you think things should be, or who you used to be, or even someone else's, or especially someone else's idea of who they think you should be. Or even measuring yourself against where somebody else is, because we're not all on the same path. We may be on the same journey, but but we all have different paths to get to where we need to be. And I think that that's a really big thing too. I think it was a lesson I needed to learn to not not look at where I was and my goals and my progress for myself and compare it against where somebody else was. Because that just doesn't work. And in all of these things, that's what makes thriving sustainable. Yeah, and remembering that it is going to be hard to get where you're going in life. You're you're gonna have to go through some potholes. Because there ain't no friggin' easy button in life. Life can be a jag off sometimes, but it's still worth showing up for. Had to let the yinzer out there for a minute, and it's not a straight line. But when you get there and when you're able, your personal growth then becomes a shared responsibility and how that becomes you doing your part to strengthen the whole or the greater good. So we hope that season two grows from this foundation, not by moving past survival, but by asking when life does begin to feel a little more steady, what comes next? And I do think it's important to remember that you know, personal growth, you know, we talk about personal growth as this journey as if there's an end destination. Oh, yeah. And and there's not. Like we're always going to be a work in progress. You, me, everyone. There's all you know, life is beautiful and it's crazy, and and shit will come at you out of nowhere. And that doesn't have to stop progress, but you keep going and you learn the tools. You you keep consistently practice all of these tools so that when it does happen, you handle it a little bit better each time. But but there's no end destination. I mean, when we're done, then we're literally done. And even then, like you keep keep on learning, like you keep learning. I remember, you know, my dad knew that he he had glioblastoma, so he knew he knew his days were numbered. And even as he was getting close to the very end, he constantly said, I have a lot to learn. Yes, yes, and and we was in at the end and knew it and was still saying, I have a lot to learn, and we all do. And that's the thing. Sometimes we get stuck in our our ruts and our way of thinking and our view of ourselves and everything, and it keeps us stuck. So remember that hard times are going to be part of everyone's journey, and the the way that you get through those times will look different, but you will come out on the other side of it. I think a big part of that is remembering that thriving grows from willingness, right? Willingness to get back up when you're ready. Try it again when it feels safe. Stay open to what might help you without forcing yourself beyond your capacity. Keep an open mind. And let me add a few words to close things out. The season was built in real life, not the highlight real. Yet here we are, still here and still moving forward. And if you don't see us everywhere on social media, that's intentional. We know we have to be there sometimes, but mostly you'll just find us here. We're choosing depth over chasing algorithms, and real life over endless doom scrolling. We'll be showing up here in these conversations. And season two is coming. More stories, more tools, more conversations. What we're not gonna do is bring you a bunch of bullshit. We're gonna try to keep it real all the time because you deserve that, and so do we. We also want to be clear that we're not journalists and we don't react to headlines. That said, we're not pretending the hard things in the world aren't happening. We know they are. But this space exists to help us live and grow within that reality and to be able to keep going even when things fell heavy. Because this is it. You're not here to be stuck. Keep going and growing. Before we go, we want to again thank you for listening through our first season. This season and all of our listeners meant a lot to us, so to market, we're releasing our first merch drop. Which was inspired by the reminder that we all need sometimes, which is you are stronger than the hard days. It's our way of honoring our first season and the community of listeners. We made it to remind you of what the season was all about. Doing hard things, staying intentional, and not quitting on yourself. You can check it out at thrivingyensers.com slash store. There'll be more to come, but this is it for now. Whether you grab a piece or not, we thank you for being a part of the community. This has been a labor of love. It's produced and funded by just the two of us. If you want to support the podcast, there are a few simple ways. You can visit the TY Toolkit at thrivingyensers.com / toolkit. We've collected some products and resources to help get your shit together around the house, keep things organized and your routines flowing smoothly. Everything on there are products that we either use personally or use with clients. You can also, if you feel inclined, book a TY service like the Four Wins Home Reset and In-Home Laundry Service, which handles those perpetual tasks that never end to make your home feel lighter. Podcast listeners receive a special offer of 20% off of three months of our home reset and laundry services. Thank you for being here. We'll be back on 412-26-412 day, of course. See you then. Bye. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out to a trusted professional or crisis hotline in your area. Help is available 24-7 nationwide at the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Dial 988 to connect with the trained crisis counselor for free and confidential support. If you are local to the Pittsburgh area, Resolve Crisis Services offer 24-7 Crisis Intervention and Stabilization Services to all Allegheny County residents. You can reach them by calling 1-888-796-8226. Okay, here comes the legalese, the oopsies, and the yinseries. Our last yinseries word of the season. Pop. That's our yinzer now. It means soda. If it's fizzy, sweet, and comes in a can or a bottle, it's pop. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared on this podcast should be considered professional advice. Driving Yenzer's LLC, its hosts, or any associated parties are not liable for any actions taken or consequences arising from the information provided. I'm staying over. I can't see you though. Got a great shot of your boobs. Oh. Well, let me get a drink of water. Leave it at that. But whatever. Yep, yeah, I said that already though. Did you already? Okay. Uh-huh. My voices sounds awful. And the choices you handles those protect her. Thank you for more about that, but yeah. Anyway.