An Army of Normal Folks - The Triad of Fulfillment

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

For Shop Talk, we bring you former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy's powerful letter upon his post, "My Parting Prescription for America".Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody, it's Bill Courtney with An Army of Normal Folks and it is time for Shop Talk Number 43. Welcome in. It's making your Friday a great day. I just brought a big smile to your face, Bill. Oh, welcome into the shop. I love being in the shop. All the interesting people we get to talk to.

What are you going to buy? Last time you asked me. I run the shop. I sell this. You buy. I sell. We only sell wood around here. Yeah. I mean, I've got to buy stock so people have something to purchase when they're in here. Sure. Something

to peruse. Shop talk number 43. I stole a Diet Coke without paying for it. Okay. Now that's going to get you another broken finger. Shop talk number 43. my parenting prescription for America. Wait, no, my parting prescription. No, my parting prescription. We're going to keep this in here, but it's not my parenting prescription. Oh, for gosh sakes. Well, anyway, Shop Talk number 43 is my parting prescription for America, and it's not my parting prescription for America. It's a surgeon general's, former

surgeon general of the United States parting prescription for America, which we'll share with you right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. Hey, y'all. I'm Maria Fernanda Diaz. My podcast, When You're Invisible, is my love letter to the working class people and immigrants who shaped my life. I get to talk to a lot of people who form the backbone of our society, but who have never been interviewed before. Season two is all about community, organizing, and being underestimated. All the greatest changes have happened when a couple of people said, this sucks, let's do something about it. I can't have more than $2,000 in my bank account or else I can't get disability benefits.

They won't let you succeed. I know we get paid to serve you guys, but like, be respectful. We're made out of the same things, bone, body, blood. It's rare to have black male teachers. Sometimes I am the lesson and I'm also the testament. Listen to When You're Invisible as part of the MyCultura podcast network.

Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everybody welcome back. Uh, shop talk number 43 on January 7th, the U S surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, published a public letter upon leaving his post that's titled My Parting Prescription for America. And here goes. Just to be clear, we don't know if it's Vivek, Vivek, just like Rama Swami. You said Vivek.

I don't... Oh, it's V-I-V-E-K. How would you say it? I don't know. I get confused now. You know what Vivek Rama Swami? Like, they say it multiple ways. Vivek, say it? I don't know. I get confused now. You know with Vivek Ramaswamy, like they say it multiple ways. Vivek, Vivek, I don't know. Did you know...

I should have looked it up to be respectful. Did you know tear and tear are spelled the same way? Yeah, true. Yeah, which is weird. Yeah. Because... Our English language is so bizarre. If you're tearing up something, if something is tearing you up, tearing you cry or is it ripping you in half?

Kind of weird, huh? That's really deep, Bill. I bet a guy named Vivek wrote that. True. Okay. January 7th, US Surgeon General, Dr. VIVEK Murphy published a, you know, that's weird. It isn't VIVEK probably like.E.K. probably like Southeast

Asia. I think it's about to say in the letter there. I think you should just get in the letter now because Murphy and I mean it's like Southeast Asia meets Ireland. Yeah. So anyway. Okay. Here's what he wrote. My parting prescription for America. My father told me he never felt emptiness, that painful, gnawing feeling that something is missing in your life until he left his farming village in rural India. Told you. Yep, there it is. It was a remarkable statement from a man who grew up with no running water or electricity and whose family scarcely had enough to put food on the table each night. But, in the village, people took care of each other. They shared food, looked out for each other's

kids, and helped out in a crisis. Like when my father's mother died when he was just 10, and neighbors stepped in like surrogate parents. People also knew each other, not just their names, but their stories and families, and they chose to spend time with each other over meals, games, and celebrations for the many festivals that dotted the calendar. I have found myself coming back to my father's story as I've grappled with a central question during my two terms as Surgeon General. What are the deeper root causes of the pain and unhappiness I encounter so often across

our country? Answering this question is urgent because the status quo is harming our physical and mental health, robbing us of our optimism, and contributing to division and polarization. There are well-known contributors to stress and discontent, economic hardship, worries about the future, the negative headlines that dominate our feeds. But even when these and other issues are addressed, there is often still something missing. After years reflecting on the stories I've heard, delving into scientific data, and convening

researchers, I've come to see that there are three essential elements that fuel our fulfillment and well-being. Relationships, Service, and purpose. Relationships keep us grounded and bonded to each other. Service from formal volunteering to informal small acts of kindness, sound familiar? Yeah.

I told you you'd like it. Yep. Is about helping each other. And purpose gives our life a sense of direction and meaning. Together, these elements form what he calls the triad of fulfillment. Each of these can significantly impact our physical and mental health, reducing our risk for heart disease, depression, anxiety, and premature death. They also allow us to connect with something bigger than ourselves, a universal human need that brings us perspective and support, and helps avoid the excessive

rumination and focus on self that often contributes to mental distress. Yet, all three drivers of fulfillment have diminished in many of our lives. One third of adults, and about half of young people, are struggling with loneliness. The majority of our country is not engaged in formal or informal service to each other. A majority of young adults say they have little or no sense of purpose or meaning in life. I'm gonna say that again, a majority greater than half of young adults say they have little or no sense of purpose or meaning in life. Man, what's it worth living, you know, if you don't have that? Alright, I'll pick it up. Perhaps this is because so many of the messages coming at us tell us to prioritize a different

triad, the triad of success, fame, wealth, and power. While there is nothing inherently wrong with these elements on their own, they rarely bring lasting fulfillment. Young people feel like they must constantly hustle and chase accomplishments, recognition, followers on social media, hoping it will lead them to success. Inside many of us are wondering, is this what life is all about? We need a clear and explicit shift that puts relationships, service, and purpose at the heart of society and our own lives. So, how can we do this? We can take one action each day to help someone. We can reach out to one friend each day to check on them. We can be more intentional about having conversations with friends and our children

about how we cultivate purpose rooted in contributing to the lives of others. As a nation, we can strengthen and expand participation in national service programs. We can support local initiatives that bring people together to build relationships and serve. Both employers and schools can build a focus on relationships, service, and purpose into the recruitment criteria and organizational culture. Finally, we can lift stories of purpose through music, novels, books, movies, and sermons so we can see a purpose-driven life as worthy and inspiring and within our grasp.

Only you forgot his podcast. Shame on him. That's true. Let me add this. He omitted one thing. Finally, we can lift stories of purpose through music, novels, movies, books, sermons, and podcasts so that we can see the purpose-driven life as worthy, inspiring, and within our grasp. The profound change we are living through isn't easy to

manage but it presents an opportunity to rethink how we are living our lives. We have a choice. The status quo, marked by pain, disconnection and division, or a different path of health, happiness and fulfillment. Choosing the latter will require rethinking what defines success in a good life. It will require building our lives around the time-tested triad of fulfillment grounding in relationship, service, and purpose. Like most people, I sometimes find myself worried about whether I am achieving enough. In those moments, I think about the patients I cared for at the end of their lives. I think about what they shared with me about what made for a fulfilling life. It was never the size of their bank accounts, the number of their followers, or their list of accomplishments.

It was always about people, the people they loved, the people they served, the people whose lives they touched, and the end when only the most meaningful strands of life remain. That is what matters. As I complete my term as Surgeon General, this is my parting prescription for the country I love, to remake and re-center our lives around relationships, service and purpose. This is the path to health, well-being and fulfillment. It is what will help us find our way home." That were from the words of US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murphy when he published this public letter upon leaving his post titled,

My Parting Prescription for America. Y'all, are we going to put this up on the website or something? Y'all, are we gonna put this up on the website or something? I mean, it'll be either a shop talk, it'll be on the website. Good. I take from the middle of this, relationships keep us grounded and bonded to each other. Service from formal volunteering to informal small acts of kindness is about helping each other and purpose gives our life a sense of direction of meeting together these elements form the triad of fulfillment we're going to use the term the triad of fulfillment a lot

coming up it's come I absolutely love that but here's the other thing that's interesting this is a this is doctor, this is a surgeon general and he says, each of these can significantly impact our physical health. In other words, service, service, a sense of directing and meaning, volunteering, the fulfillment of relationship, service and purpose can significantly impact our physical health, leading to a reduction in our risk for heart disease, our heart, and our lungs, and our stomachs, and our bodies are so connected to our mental health, to our brains, that things like connectivity and relationships and having a sense of purpose and service can actually improve our physical health because of the state of mind that it puts us in.

This is Surgeon General. This is not some idealistic 56-year-old with a podcast trying to convince people of this. This is the lead physician of our country. They actually call the position America's doctor, but I didn't put it in there because so many people are skeptical after the COVID environment. They may not want to hear that. The dude's still a big time physical doctor making the connection. Historically, they call the job America's doctor. Yeah, it's America's doctor and his parting prescription is not even something physical or medical or prescriptive. It is simply service, finding a purpose, relationships,

community and service. I can't, I can't, I can't think of a better thing except Alex. I mean, we need to call this dude and get him on the show That would be cool. What are you gonna do about it? Not do it. Why not? You're gonna do it. I think so. I mean the guy's awesome and what he just said is I mean We at least he needs to know about the show because I think he'd think maybe we're an army of normal folks medical community Well, I mean if he's right, we're actually doing something normal folks, medical community. Well, I mean, if he's right, we're actually doing something for people's physical health, aren't we?

Sure. Why not? We're not. I thought you were going to. We don't need a spinoff, an army of normal medical people. We don't need another. Another spinoff. Yeah.

We got dead people. We got motor people. There's another one. Irving Normal Kidney Donors, Irving Normal Blood Donors. And we got the army of normal quotes or what are those things? Normal folks, wisdom, normal, normal folks, facts. Can we please put some of this on normal folks? Oh yeah, that would be a good idea.

Yeah. Stop telling me what to do. I'm sorry. You're the producer on the thing. All right. So, uh, shop talk number 43, the lead surgeon general, the, the head doc in the United States. He has a parting prescription for America and His parting prescription is this build relationships build community build a sense of purpose by serving by donating by giving your time That's shop talk number 43 guys

As we always sign off and we say you know do it you can it starts with you you know here's here's the surgeon general United States saying the same thing in a four page letter I hope you'll pull it up and read it if you enjoyed this episode please share it it with friends on social. Join the subscribe to the podcast at normalfolks.us. No. What do you do? So you join the army at normalfolks.us.

All right, then what else you can consider becoming a premium member there. You can't subscribe to the podcast on the website bill. So we can only do that on like Apple, Spotify. Okay. Well, don't we want people to subscribe? Yeah, we do. Yeah, they just can't do that on the website bill so we can only do that on like Apple Spotify okay well don't we want people so yeah we do yeah they just can't do that on the website so they just sign up to join the army on the website but we want them to subscribe yeah it's here so join and subscribe and become a premium member and share on some follow us on so I mean all the rescue people to do too many things but they're all important why don't all these say this is not that

hard it takes five minutes to do all of these. So what are y'all waiting on? Do all that. I mean, it would make it easier if you weren't so confused. It might make it easier for people to do it. Well, I mean, I don't even understand all that stuff. I'm too old, but I hope people will do it because we can grow the army. We can actually help this country.

And according to US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murphy, we can also help one another's health in doing so, both mental and physical. That's Shop Talk number 43. Thanks. We'll see you next week. Hey y'all, I'm Maria Fernanda Diaz. When You're Invisible is my love letter to the working class people and immigrants who shaped me.

Season two, share stories about community and being underestimated. All the greatest changes have happened when a couple of people said, this sucks, let's do something about it. We get paid to serve you, but we're made out of the same things. It's rare to have black male teachers. Sometimes I am the testament. Listen to When You're Invisible on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.