By Marvin Dixon | VMG Review
You work all week, pay the bills that are due, and hope the car holds up until payday. Then your supervisor changes your shift, and now you have to find someone to pick up your child. By Sunday evening, you’ve spent half the weekend figuring out how to get through the next five days.
In Part 3, I wrote about the pressures of modern life and the struggle to get ahead. For this part, I want to ask a question. How much progress can a person make when so much of their time and energy goes into keeping everything together?
What would give you some breathing room?
When I was younger, I spent more time thinking about how to earn money than how to keep some of it. My brother and a friend taught me to take saving seriously. I started with spare change. Over time, my wife and I developed a habit of saving and investing. Because I don’t have a pension, I understand firsthand what those decisions have meant for us.
I also remember who helped me get started. Two people took the time to share something they had learned, and I had a chance to put it to work. Think about what that kind of help could look like in your own life. Maybe a dependable ride would let you accept a better shift. Maybe one evening of help with the children would give you time to take a class. Maybe what you need first is a conversation with someone who has faced the same decision.
Some pressures call for more than one person
Imagine two parents who work different shifts and both struggle with school pickup. If their schedules line up, they might be able to trade one afternoon a week. That could help both families. But when shifts change with a day’s notice, it’s hard for either parent to make a dependable plan. What would change for those families if their employers posted schedules further in advance?
That’s part of the conversation I want us to have. We can take responsibility for our own decisions and still ask whether the people who set our hours, run our schools, or make decisions in our communities understand what those decisions mean at home.
Start with one honest conversation
This week, give yourself ten minutes to answer this question. What keeps making my week harder, and who could help change it?
Be specific. Instead of telling a relative, “I need more help,” try, “Could you pick up the children on Thursday while I finish my shift?” If you’re the person someone turns to, be just as specific about what you can offer. One ride you can commit to is something they can put on the calendar and plan around.
My brother and my friend probably had no idea how often I would think about what they taught me. Years later, I’m still passing their advice along. Think about who helped you when you were trying to get ahead. What could you pass along this week that would make somebody else’s next step possible?
Marvin Dixon/Founder
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