#1871 Tough Love

Summary

---

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1871 — Tough Love
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Dakota
Date: June 8, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode centers on "tough love" and personal accountability in diabetes management. Scott and returning guest Dakota (previously in episode 1410) engage in a candid, no-nonsense conversation about what really gets in the way of living well with type 1 diabetes. Dakota shares updates on his experience with the Medtronic 780G insulin pump after transitioning from Omnipod and iLet. The heart of the discussion isn't technical pump performance but Dakota’s ongoing cycle of resistance, guilt, and ultimately, the need to take ownership of diabetes care, even when it just isn’t fair. Scott uses humor, real-world analogies, and raw life stories to urge both Dakota and listeners to move past blame and wishful thinking, and adopt practical, daily strategies for better outcomes.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Journey Between Devices (02:31–04:32)

• Dakota discusses his path: Omnipod 5 → iLet → Medtronic 780G.
• Transition motivated by “rapid swings and unpredictability with the iLet—400 to 40 in the same day.” (03:31)
• Initial iLet experience: “was good… I didn’t have to carb count…70–80% in range.” (05:22)
• Over time, issues increased: forgetfulness, especially with ADHD, evolving eating habits, and not always announcing meals. (05:59–06:17)

2. The Real Challenge: Not the Pump, But Human Nature (06:17–13:44)

• Dakota resists “being told what to do”—with diabetes acting as a constant nagging presence.
• Scott presses: “You don’t want anybody to tell you what to do. And when that happens, it feels like...diabetes is telling you what to do?” (06:57)
• “I want to eat what I want to eat, and I don’t like having people dictate that…Sometimes whole packages of stuff…and I won’t count the carbs.” — Dakota (06:23)
• Cycle of guilt: “You feel guilty about letting your blood sugar go high…So you’re caught in a cycle.” — Scott (08:42, 09:13)
• “Do you know what just happened? Yeah. How come you don’t do it differently? ‘It’s the pump. The pump sucks. It’s not the pump.’” — Scott (12:59)

3. Scott’s “Tough Love” Philosophy (13:44–22:21)

• Shifting blame: “We want the pump to fix it.” — Dakota (12:59)
• “It’s not going to, Dakota. That’s not gonna happen.” — Scott (13:01)
• Scott's memorable analogies:
  • Laundry: “Pre-bolus, don’t be mad at yourself later. Do a little laundry today.” (18:16)
  • Car maintenance: “Change the oil in your car before your car stops working…Just don’t do it, it never happens.” (18:45)
• Life just isn’t fair, but it demands meaningful daily actions.
• “Time is going to move with you even if you don’t move with time. So just get up tomorrow and do it. And you’re not gonna enjoy it. It’s not fun.” — Scott (22:22)

4. Making Peace With Reality (24:28–31:45)

• Practical constraints: Dakota’s struggles with food affordability, processed carbs, and not knowing exact carb counts. (24:36–25:36)
• Scott reframes: “Don’t tell me, ‘I can’t be healthy because I have to shop at a bakery.’ Tell me, ‘I have to shop at the bakery, so I got to figure out what to do about that.’” (25:26)
• Small decisions compound: “One small decision…can exponentially grow. And I think that works with health decisions or mindset.” (27:34)
• Consistency over perfection: “Just fold the damn piece of paper in half…Just do it again at the next meal.” (27:59)

5. Taking Action, Not Waiting for Rescue (31:45–39:02)

• Scott notes: “We are all in a world of our making. Once we’re in that world…Everything that comes after that is you.” (31:45)
• “No one is going to step in and save you…You know, there’s people who can help you, but they aren’t going to come find you.” (59:02)
• Living without expectation for perfection is key—act, adjust, and keep moving.
• “You either don’t want it to be that way or you want it to be that way…Do something about it.” — Scott (56:48)

6. Scott’s Personal Stories: Building Resilience (39:02–47:46)

• Scott shares his rough upbringing—poverty, absent and abusive parents, early work — illustrating that life teaches resilience through setbacks.
• “I wanted to find out what was on the other side of this experience. I was never going to get to what was on the other side of it if I didn’t figure that out.” (41:24)
• “I just did [something]. And it doesn’t happen as fast as you want it to, but it’s 100% not going to happen if you don’t do something.” (44:04)
• “You build a pretty good foundation of confidence on trying…You see the wins in hindsight.” (46:58)

7. What Changes Actually Look Like (49:20–54:29)

• “Just making the right decisions, repeatedly…Pre-bolusing, taking care of the lows before they get too low…” — Dakota (33:39)
• “Once you start going through these things, you’re going to see they’re all the same thing. It's all act first…Put yourself on offense.” — Scott (34:14)
• “Change your pod before you go to bed is the same as your blood sugar at 70—could have just had some sugar right there.” (35:28)
• Practical tips: Use reminders, alarms for pre-bolus; stop blaming device, food, or external situations; make and stick to a plan; adapt as needed. (55:49)

8. Self-Compassion and Community (37:01–38:21; 58:05–60:29)

• Scott points out Dakota is “a lovely person. Be lovely to yourself for a while.”
• “I’m always about making other people happy before myself.” — Dakota (37:06)
• “Stop doing that. Now, here’s the rest of it: stop doing that.” — Scott (37:09)
• Seeking therapy: Even considering reaching out for help is a positive act and part of the solution, not a weakness. (58:07)

9. Ending the Blame Game (61:37–62:01)

• Device blame: “Omnipod, iLet, Medtronic…none of them work. What did you learn during this one hour?” — Scott (61:46)
• “I’m the common denominator. Yeah, you’re the only…yeah, it’s you.” (61:56)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It's not the pump. The pump works fine, by the way. You're not helping it." — Scott (12:59)
• "I don't want to be told what to do. I don't want to have to change this pump site before I go to bed…so I won't do it. And instead, I'm going to wake up in the morning with a high blood sugar…you're now being told what to do by the problem." — Scott (35:28)
• "Just make good decisions, man. Like when you have an opportunity, think about it for a second and do what your gut tells you, and then just keep going." — Scott (48:59)
• "Pre-bolus, don’t be mad at yourself later. Do a little laundry today…or spend the next 10 days staring at the pile…it applies to everything." — Scott (18:16)
• "No one’s coming to save you. The government’s not coming. Your mom’s not coming…It’s you. You and the rock. Make good decisions." — Scott (66:19)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:31–04:32 — Dakota describes past device experiences and the move to Medtronic 780G.
• 06:17–13:44 — The psychological and behavioral cycle around diabetes management; resisting “doing what you’re told.”
• 18:10–19:34 — “Laundry and oil change” analogies for life with diabetes.
• 24:28–27:33 — Tackling practical challenges: food insecurity and flexibility.
• 27:33–31:45 — Compounded decision-making and mindset shifts.
• 37:01–38:21 — On being kinder to oneself and the difficulty of prioritizing self-care.
• 39:02–47:46 — Scott’s tough upbringing and the lesson of resilience.
• 49:20–54:29 — Listing actionable steps and how “doing the thing” creates progress.
• 61:37–62:01 — Realizing self is the common denominator, end of blame.

---

Actionable Takeaways

• Personal responsibility is the cornerstone for diabetes management: devices help, but behavioral consistency is key.
• Small, repeated, proactive actions are much more effective than reactive crisis management.
• Set reminders and routines (alarms, notifications) to support ADHD challenges or forgetfulness.
• Don’t wait for a perfect life—or perfect system—to take care of yourself; work with what you have.
• Stop blaming pumps, food, or circumstances; adjust your approach and keep moving forward.
• If you need help, ask for it—from a therapist, community, or resources like those mentioned in the episode.

---

Tone & Style

Conversational, direct, compassionate, and sometimes blunt. Scott’s style uses real-world metaphors and humor to drive home hard truths, while maintaining empathy for Dakota’s challenges. There are light moments around pop culture memes and generational differences, with emphasis firmly on personal growth, self-respect, and the value of “just doing the thing.”

---

For listeners who haven’t tuned in:
This episode is an honest window into living with type 1 diabetes, where emotional cycles and day-to-day choices matter more than technological solutions. You’ll come away motivated and equipped to act—whether your challenge is diabetes, or simply the next “unfair” thing life sends your way.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome back friends, to another episode of the Juice Box Podcast.

[B]

I'm Dakota, back on the podcast again to tell everyone my experience with the Medtronic 780G.

[A]

If you're looking for community around type 1 diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast. Private Facebook Group juice box podcast type 1 diabetes but everybody is welcome. Type 1 type 2 gestational loved ones it doesn't matter to me. If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort or community, check out Juice Box podcast type 1 diabetes on Facebook. Have you tried the Small Sip series? They're curated takeaways from the Juice Box Podcast, voted on by listeners as the most helpful insights for managing their diabetes. These bite sized pieces of wisdom cover essential topics like insulin timing, carb management and balancing highs and lows, making it easier for you to incorporate real life strategies into your daily routine. Dive deep, take a sip and discover what our community finds most valuable on the journey to better diabetes management. For more information on Small sips, go to juiceboxpodcast.com, click on the Word series in the menu. Nothing you hear on the Juice Box Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan. The episode you're about to listen to is sponsored by TandemMobi, the impressively small insulin pump. Tandem Mobi features Tandem's newest algorithm, Control IQ technology. It's designed for greater discretion, more freedom and improved time and range. Learn more and get started [e-mail] Juicebox Today's episode is also sponsored by Touched by Type 1. Go check them out right now on Facebook, Instagram and of [e-mail] check out that Programs tab when you get to the website to see all the great things that they're doing for people living with type 1 diabetes. Touched by type1.org the podcast is also sponsored today by the Eversense365 the one year wear CGM. That's one insertion a year. That's it. And here's a little bonus for you. How about there's no limit on how many friends and family you can share your data with with the Ever since now app. No limits Ever Since.

[B]

I'm Dakota, back on the podcast again to tell everyone my experience with the Medtronic 7.80G.

[A]

Okay Cody, you were on before.

[B]

Do you know the episode you were on was 1410? I want to say.

[A]

Look at you. I like that, you know. Thank you. Let me see if I can pull up 1410 real quick. And I will use my very own website for that. Search the archive 14:10 islet user experience. Yep. Dakota moved from Omnipod 5 to islet. And now I guess you went from eyelet to

[B]

MiniMed Medtronic 780G.

[A]

What precipitated your change?

[B]

I was getting lots of rapid swings with an unpredictability with the islet.

[A]

Give me some examples.

[B]

Just. I mean, same with, like, the Omnipod that we had talked about in the last episode. 400 to 40 in the same day. I let. Sometimes I was waking up with, like 17 units on board. I didn't know what to expect with it. Like, what was it going to do next? Is kind of where it had gotten to. I'd done a couple resets to try to let the algorithm relearn me, but it always ended up in the same place.

[A]

Okay, so now you're using the 780G.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Okay. Has this been any different for you?

[B]

Yeah, I had more control with the 7 ADG. Absolutely, yes.

[A]

Is it still similar to the experiences you were having in the last two iterations?

[B]

No, no, but I have issues with Basil rising overnight.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

With the 780G.

[A]

So if you don't mind, let's start with the eyelet pump, and then we'll go to this transition.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. So how do you get trained for the eyelet pump?

[B]

I. Let's see. It was a video call between me, the trainer, and the diabetic educator at the office that I was being seen at.

[A]

And what's the promise of that pump when they're describing to you how it works and what you should expect? What did you initially think was going to happen?

[B]

I wouldn't have to think about diabetes anymore.

[A]

Okay. That didn't turn out to be the case at first.

[B]

And then it. And then I started having to wonder what was going to happen next.

[A]

Okay, so at first, what was your. So your initial experience with eyelet was what?

[B]

It was good. I didn't have to carb count. I announced my meals, and it. It did a pretty good job of keeping me in range between 70 and 80% of the time.

[A]

Okay, and what range is it shooting for?

[B]

110 was my target.

[A]

The target was 1 10. But what did you call low? And what would you call high?

[B]

75 to 180.

[A]

Okay, and so you think you were 70 or 80% of the time in that range?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. With the eyelet initially. Now, when it started to change, did something change about your life? Did your activity level change? Did anything else? Did You. The way you ate. Shift.

[B]

Yeah. My life changed. Diagnosed with adhd. Forgetting to announce meals would start becoming an issue.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

My eating habits have changed. I. I still struggle with some disordered eating.

[A]

So can you put that into words for me? Describe how it impacts you, what happens?

[B]

I don't really. I try not to think about it, so I don't even really know how to, like, explain it into words, but I want to eat what I want to eat, and I don't like having people dictate that. And I don't like the carb count. So I think that's where the issue comes together, is all e. These things. Full packages of stuff sometimes. And I won't count the carbs. And if the machine. Any machine, doesn't know, it's not going

[A]

to know what to do.

[B]

Exactly. So. Yep.

[A]

Let me just ask you a question. Okay. Yep. You don't want anybody to tell you what to do. And when that happens, it feels like, what, diabetes is telling you what to do, or your doctor is. Or your mom or, like, what's the vibe? Diabetes. Okay, so diabetes wants you to do something, and you're saying you. I'm not doing what you tell me you're. That you're. That song, the Rage against the Machine song, what's it called?

[B]

Is it Bulls Against Parade?

[A]

The other one? I don't think it's Bulls on Parade. I think it's the. I think any. That's not important. And so, like, you.

[B]

You.

[A]

You say you. I'm not. I won't do what you tell me. And. And that's some sort of defiance that you think you have built in with your ADHD or. Where do you think that comes from?

[B]

I feel like I've been growing up more in, like, becoming an adult. So I think the last time we Talked, I was 27. I'm going to be turning 29 soon. And just with that comes the feeling

[A]

like, you're gonna have to do it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So my question would be all the stuff that's coming from not doing the things that you're supposed to be doing, are you happy that those are the. Like, is. Is it. Is it like a. Is it a net positive? Like. Well, I. My blood sugar is high and it's low, but I didn't do what I was told by diabetes, so it's a trade I'm willing to make or.

[B]

No, See, and that's how I felt at first, but now I'm wanting to gain that control back.

[A]

Okay. Because if you want to do what you want to do then. And trust me, I'm not in your head, so I have no idea. But then isn't this as simple as you deciding that this is what you want? And then instead of diabetes telling you what to do, aren't you telling yourself to do that? And then isn't that okay?

[B]

I feel guilty about doing it.

[A]

Okay. How come?

[B]

Because I know it's not the right decision.

[A]

Wait, so start over. You feel guilty about doing what?

[B]

Letting my blood sugar go high.

[A]

You feel guilty about letting your blood sugar go high. So you're having this situation where you don't want to be told what to do. You're happy to not do it because that's you being independent or, you know, in control or whatever. And then the outcome is the higher blood sugar, and then you feel guilt around that.

[B]

Yeah, I don't like the outcome.

[A]

So you're caught in a cycle.

[B]

It feels like it.

[A]

Okay, what do you think the simplest break to the cycle is? You know what I mean? Like, if you're going to swing at that circle to try to put a. Put a break in it, like, what's the thing that would be easiest for you to, I don't know, make a. Make an agreement with?

[B]

Oh, easiest thing to make an agreement

[A]

with because you've already told me you don't want to be high. Like, you're here telling me my blood sugar swinging all over the place. This isn't. Okay, so that's you saying that something that impacts that needs to change. Well, it needs to change. Or. Or you need to let it change because you're. I mean, honestly, you're. I've talked to you now once, and. And again. You're a bright person. You know what I mean? Like, you're trying really hard for yourself. Like, you're putting a ton of effort into all this. You must know, like, intellectually, like, it wouldn't take this much effort to just do it. Right?

[B]

Yeah, exactly. And, like, sometimes I'll be at work and I won't. I'll be ignoring the fact that I'm, like, going low because I'm so busy, and I'll dismiss the alarm, you know, I'm not low. Low yet. Still above 70. Whatever, go on. It starts cutting off and it starts holding back the insulin, right as the algorithms do. And then it's time for lunch, and I haven't had any insulin flowing for a while now. And then I go to eat and my blood sugar skyrockets. Even with a pre bolus that constantly happens. And then I'M thinking, well, if I would have just dealt with it in the moment, taking a couple glucose tabs, this wouldn't have happened.

[A]

Right. So tell me what. What's the human part of it that makes that undoable? Is it the feeling that your body doesn't work the way it's supposed to and you don't want to. You don't want to live in a world where that's true or.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I went 25 years without having diabetes. It's. Yeah, I still remember that very well.

[A]

I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't do this.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Yep. So life, like, shifts, right? Like, it changes. And I realize that this is a big change that comes out of nowhere. And it's not a slow drift into something you're okay one day, and the next day you need to, you know, give yourself insulin through a pump 15 minutes before you eat. And that's a. It's not the same as, you know, a slow kind of glacial shift that happens with a lot of things in life. Do you believe life to be finite? Do you think you're going to die one day and that's going to be it for you?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You do? Okay. So do you see what I'm going to say next? You only have so much time.

[B]

Yes. Yeah.

[A]

Why are you wasting it on this? Just when you're 70, just take some sugar, and then all that comes after that is dismissed. It's gone. It never happens. There's all this consternation about, you know, I know I'm low. I don't want to do what I don't want to do. This isn't fair. I shouldn't have diabetes. So I don't do it. So I get low. My system's been cutting off my insulin for a while. Then I eat. My blood sugar shoots high. I fight with that for three or four hours. I probably get low afterwards. Then I go on a podcast to tell people the pump doesn't work. But pump works fine, by the way. You're. You're. You're not helping it. Yeah, yeah. All of them. I don't know. I mean, you know, and. And then I'm. Then I'm like, well, I'll try this pump, by the way, this thing you're doing, super common. I see it online all the time. I got a tandem pump. It sucks. So I got Omnipod 5, but that sucks. So I'm trying this, and this sucked, and that sucks. And this sucks. Do you Pre bulls? No. Do you stop low blood sugars? No. Do you know what just happened? Yeah. How come you don't do it differently? It's the pump. The pump sucks. It's not the pump.

[B]

We want the. We want the pump to fix it.

[A]

Yeah. It's not going to Dakota. That's not gonna happen.

[B]

And for some reason, like, even when you know that, it still feels like that's the impression that they're trying to.

[A]

Well, that's marketing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

That's what. Just jingle behind you. Is there a cat behind you? What's happening? Oh, what was that? Was that you, or was it. Was it in here?

[B]

It's. It's the cords on mine.

[A]

Oh, okay. I thought you're. I thought your cat was running through the room with a bell around its neck like it was 1947. So, I mean, your conversation really, to me, is more about this. I bet you any of these pumps would work fine for you. And so you're looking for the one that most ignores the fact that you have diabetes and still gives you reasonable outcomes where you're not high or low.

[B]

Yeah. And works with the way I want my lifestyle to be.

[A]

Do you see that existing somewhere? Maybe you're here to tell me the minimal 780G fixed the whole thing and it's all perfect. Is that true?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay, well, then. So you want your lifestyle to be a certain way, but you're. Can I talk to you? Like, we're. Like, I'm your dad for a second, but yes. Okay. Please. To go to the concept. Somebody.

[B]

Somebody needs to.

[A]

But look at all the time you've wasted waiting for that thing to come that might not come. Why would you settle for changing your CGM every few weeks when you can have 365 days of reliable glucose data? Today's episode is sponsored by the Eversense365. It is the only CGM with a tiny sensor that lasts a full year, sitting comfortably under your skin. With no more frequent sensor changes and essentially no compression lows for one year, you'll get your CGM data in real time on your phone. Smartwatch, Android or iOS, even an Apple watch. Predictive high and low alerts let you know where your glucose is headed before it gets there. So there's no surprises, just confidence. And you can instantly share that data with your healthcare provider or your family. You're going to get one year of reliable data without all those sensor changes. That's the Eversense 365. Gentle on your skin, strong for your life one sensor a year that gives you one less thing to worry about. Head now to eversensecgm.com juicebox to get started, let's talk about the Tandem Moby insulin pump from today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care. Their newest algorithm, Control IQ technology, and the new Tandem Moby pump offer you unique opportunities to have better control. It's the only system with autobolus that helps with missed meals and preventing hyperglycemia, the only system with a dedicated sleep setting, and the only system with off or on body wear options. Tandem Moby gives you more discretion, freedom and options for how to manage your diabetes. This is their best algorithm ever and they'd like you to check it [e-mail] juicebox when you get to my link, you're going to see integrations with Dexcom sensors and a ton of other information that's going to help you learn about Tandem's tiny pump that's big on control. Tandomdiabetes.com juicebox the tandem mobi system is available for people ages 2 and up who want an automated delivery system to help them sleep better, wake up in range, and address high blood sugars with auto bolus.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. So if you've given away four years to, like, this isn't right. It shouldn't be like this. Damn it. Like, somebody fix it? I mean, yes, it's a lot of effort you would have put into it, but it wouldn't have been four years worth of effort. I mean, I genuinely believe that when you make meaningful actions up front, you cut out a lot of unnecessary problems in the back end that also need your, your time and attention and then worse, put you in situations where your blood sugar is low or high? Like, wouldn't you rather make small, meaningful, like, steps a handful of times a day and then avoid those lows and those highs and eating when you don't want to and being. You know what I mean? Like, it's a psychological thing, Dakota. It's got nothing to do with diabetes or the pump or anything else. Like, there's something inside of you that says, I mean, it's, well, I don't want it to be this way. And if it's gonna be, then it's gonna be a mess and then I'll blame diabetes afterwards. And maybe that's true, by the way. Maybe diabetes did put you in this situation. I'm not saying that's not the case. What I'm saying is it doesn't change the reality or what your life is like day to day or, you know, time after time. But by the way, time goes very quickly, you know, like, you know, you're going to be 40 before you know it. Do you really want to be a 40 year old guy on a 70 year old guy's podcast talking about, like, I tried the, the Maximus 9 pump, but it didn't do it. And I'm over here going like, sleeping because I can barely stay awake. I don't know how to describe to you what to do. It's not me. If I had diabetes, I think I'd even know less. Like, all I can tell you is that the simple principles that run a reasonable life will run a reasonable life with diabetes too.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

You listen to the podcast a lot, right?

[B]

Not, I don't listen to any podcast as much as I used to in the past.

[A]

But you have listened to this podcast a lot at some point. Okay, yes. My point is, is that I only talk about diabetes and what is basically like a reasonable way that you would talk about anything else. You know, like, I don't know, your laundry. You can either do a little bit of laundry every couple of days or once every two weeks, look in your room and go, oh my God, what happened? And then spend two days doing the laundry, being mad at yourself the whole time, like, that's it. Like pre bolus. Don't be mad at yourself later. Do a little laundry today. Take it out of the dryer, fold it up, put it away, do it again in three or four days. It takes five minutes of effort to put it in the laundry machine. It takes 20 minutes of effort to fold it up. And three days. You don't think about your laundry. Or spend the next 10 days staring at the pile of laundry in your room, loathing yourself for not doing it. It's life. It applies to everything. Change the oil in your car before your car stops working. That's all. If you don't, the motor blows up and then it costs you $8,000 to put a new motor in your car. And the whole time you're driving it, you're worried, I think the car is going to blow up. I don't know how to pay for the $8,000. When the motor goes, I don't know where to take it to get it fixed. I, oh my God, I can't afford this. I maybe just need a new car. I can't afford a new car. What did I do? Why didn't I just change the oil? Oh my God, oh my God. Like, just don't do it. It never happens.

[B]

Deal with it. Now?

[A]

Yeah, do it now. When the bills come, Dakota, open them. Even if you don't have the money. Open the envelope up and say fares. Fair. I owe $180 to the electric company. At least I know when it's out in the open. Rather than let the bill sit on your countertop for a month mocking you. By the way, it could be. It could be $75 this month. You don't know. You haven't looked at it.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

So now you're just worrying about it for no reason. Does any of this make sense?

[B]

Yes. No. It all makes sense.

[A]

And I grow up in the jungle. What happened?

[B]

I had parents. I don't know. It's tough.

[A]

Did they yell at you? They should have yelled at you more. I would have yelled at you. No, no. So seriously, like you're how old did you say?

[B]

I'll be? 29 in a month.

[A]

29 in a month. Okay. When I was 29, I had a baby and I owned a house. You can just jump into life and start doing. Doesn't get harder or easier. It's all the same. But one way you're moving forward and one way you're sitting still waiting for everything to be perfect before you move forward. There is no perfect. And time is going to move with you even if you don't move with time. So just get up tomorrow and do it. And you're not gonna enjoy it. It's not fun. Let me tell you some other things that aren't fun. Watching Bear in the Big Blue house is not fun. But I have done it 500 times in my life because my 6 month old liked it when it was on the television in the background when he was eating. And then he got older, then he was singing the songs. You know the songs, Dakota. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the big Blue. I know it. I could see.

[B]

I used to watch that show a lot.

[A]

Yeah? Yeah. Okay. And you were a kid when you watched it. I was an adult. I was not interested in bearing the big blue house. Here's other things. I was not interested in putting down a monoleum floor in a kitchen. I was not interested in buying a hot water heater for a condo that I knew I wasn't going to live in much longer. I wasn't interested in saving money. I wasn't interested in buying tires. I'm not interested in cutting the lawn. I'm not interested in dusting, mopping, doing the dishes. I'm not interested in most of the things that I do. But my Life is better because I do them and it gives me a lot of free time where I can do what I want. And I'm not busy loathing myself for not doing those things because it's going to happen one way or the other. You either deal with it and make the best of it. And not in a sad way, like, well, I'll just make the best of it. Like, literally make the have a nice life or sit here and wring your hands about it and blame other stuff and watch your life go by. It's pretty much it. We don't need to keep talking if you don't want to.

[B]

This is good.

[A]

But you probably should make a plan if that's what you want to do.

[B]

Yeah, no, I want to start making changes for sure.

[A]

Yeah. And they're not changes, really. I know it's easy to think about that way. I'm not a therapist, by the way. This is very important for people to understand. And I'm sure a therapist wouldn't talk to you like this because they probably have rules and laws and stuff like that. You already know what to do. Just get your shit together this afternoon. Get your blood sugar stable, wake up in the morning, pre bullish your meal, and then don't get high or low afterwards. And if you do, do something about it before it becomes a problem. Right. Like, you know. Did you ever listen to the Pro Tip series? Yes. Yeah, Right. Don't go driving off the road into the weeds, across the rumble strip, down the hill, and then decide to turn back over just like, oh, I think I'm going off the road now. And then just turn the wheel back a little bit. Just small, deliberate decisions that stop you from plowing through a tree and brush and everything else. You are the master of your domain. Your life will go the way you want it to. Mostly speaking, I can't give you more money or a different house or something like that, but within the ecosystem that you live in right now, it goes good or it doesn't based on the decisions you make every day. And that's it. Like, that's life, man. It's not exciting, and it's certainly not the way you imagined it. You know, I don't think you and I are ever going to be ASAP Rocky rolling up to the Met gala with Rihanna. As much as we'd like to, I'm only speaking for myself, I guess, at this moment, but I would love to be with Rihanna and I'd like to have a big ring on my hand that looks like it costs as much as a mountain. If I would, you know, if you could buy a mountain. But that's not. That's not my life. Like, my life is this. I make this podcast. I keep my house clean, take care of my kids. I do the laundry. I go away once in a while. Not really as much as I want to. And when I don't go away as much as I want to, I'm not mad at everybody. That's just what it is. Like, there's a simplicity in that. I think you would find a lot of common. And you're young still. Like, you could look up six months from now and be like, I can't believe I was doing all that. And it could just be over.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, what are some of the things you imagine are stopping you from doing this? Is there maybe ways we could talk about mitigating those?

[B]

Yeah. I have trouble accessing food affordably.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So that becomes an option or an issue where try to only eat two meals a day.

[A]

Okay. What do you end up eating?

[B]

A large amount of protein, rice and frozen vegetables. Most of the time, as a meal,

[A]

do you find yourself being hungry, or do you just feel like you're not eating as much as you're supposed to be?

[B]

I find myself being hungry, but I'm so busy throughout the day, it's easy to ignore it.

[A]

Okay, all right. So it's not. You wouldn't call that a pressing issue that's stopping you from succeeding?

[B]

No. And yes.

[A]

Tell me why. Yes.

[B]

Some of the foods I am able to get are very processed and high in carbs and not good for you.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

So sometimes that's the only option that I have at that moment.

[A]

But, Dakota, are you also not pre bolusing for those foods?

[B]

And I don't know how many carbs are in them because they're from a bakery, like a local bakery without a label.

[A]

Okay. Okay. So then that's something to work on. Cause the rest of it's like. The rest of it's not cool. And if we were. If this was a, you know, I don't know, a social studies class, and we were talking about how to make the world better, then we would dig into this. But what I would tell you is this is your situation, so you have to figure out how to make the best of that situation. Yeah. Don't tell me, you know, I can't be healthy because I have to shop at a bakery. Tell me I have to shop at the bakery, so I got to figure out what to do about that. Right. Like there's meaningful steps to take that will help you in every aspect of life, not just in this. You know, there are plenty of people have terrible lives, and they are still alive and they're still moving. It's not optimal, and it's certainly not what they want for themselves, and it may not be what society would want for them. If we were looking in on them and we were like, well, gosh, I don't want that to happen. But there those people are anyway, figuring out how to get by. And, you know, in 2026, you have an insulin pump, you have insulin. You do have access to food. Like, you're eating twice a day, which is probably more than most people around the world eat. Not to say, like, you know, because there's poor people, other places that your thing's not real. But I'm saying that your thing seems manageable. It seems doable. I would suggest to you that I don't know what it is about me that makes me feel this way, the way I grew up or experiences I had or whatever. And I don't know how to pass this on to you, but I will pass the idea on to you that unless you're dead, everything should be negotiable. You should be able to figure your way through things. It's not going to be what you want. It won't be what you like. It might not be comfortable. It might not be something that other people would be like, wow, look at this. This is fun to look at, but it's still doable for you. And I imagine if you put a lot of those things in order, your situation could rise up to begin with because you're spending a lot of time fighting against reality. And I would imagine feeling bad for yourself while you're doing it.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. And I'm sorry for you. Like, I'm not without compassion. And I certainly don't want you to live or anybody to live in a situation where they don't feel like they can put their hands on the right amount of food every time, or that their situation sucks. And, you know, you look online or, you know, out in the world, you see people driving cars you can't afford and living in houses you, you know, you don't think you're ever going to live in. But if you ask anybody how to be wealthy, one day, they're going to start. Anybody who knows how to make money is going to tell you about compound interest. Right. They're going to tell you about the value of. I mean, I don't know exactly what the number is. But like, if you put $1,000 away right now, 30 years from now would probably be like a million bucks or something like that. Like, you know that thing about, like, if you fold over a piece of paper a certain amount of times, it goes to the moon. Yep. Yeah, yeah, that. Okay, so one small decision, right. Can exponentially grow. And I think that that works too with health decisions or mindset or stuff like that. Like, I think you just start building. You just start taking that piece of paper and fold it in half and tomorrow it's two times as thick as it was today. And then do it again. Now it's four times as thick as it was on the first day. Just keep making small good decisions. And when you forget to fold the piece of paper in half one day, don't spend the next week and a half beating yourself up about it and doing that thing that people go, well, next Monday we'll start folding the paper again. Next Monday it's Tuesday. It's just an excuse. It's like, oh, I forgot, I'm supposed to do it every day and I didn't do it on Monday, so I don't have to do it again until next Monday. That's not true. Just do it again at the next meal. Just fold the damn piece of paper in half. Now you missed a little time. It's no big deal. It becomes a big deal when you wait a week. Because then a week goes by and you think, well, I waited a week, I could wait a month. I'll start pre bolstering around, how about after Christmas? You ever hear somebody say that I'm going to eat better after Christmas. They'll say that in August. They're like, yeah, I want to get through the summer first and then I get through the summer. I don't want to start right away because Halloween, you, you know, and then there's Thanksgiving and then Christmas and New Year's. I could probably just start after New Year's and then six weeks later it's Valentine's Day and then it's Easter. I'm gonna have candy on Easter. I have candy on Valentine's Day, you know. You know, we'll get going in the spring. Spring will be a good time. Oh, I gotta take my mom out for Mother's Day. You know, I'll probably just, oh, it's summertime. Picnics. Woo. And then the next thing you know, it's like, well, maybe in the fall and you're doing that with your diabetes. A lot of people are. And you're either going to do it or you're not. I had an experience that I sort of don't want to talk about in great detail, but I was around a group of people with diabetes recently. A lot of, there was a lot of people there and we spent a lot of time together and a couple of them had issues. One with a high blood sugar, one with a low blood sugar. And then I watched the person with the high blood sugar not know what to do about it. Even though they had had diabetes for, you know, more than a handful of years. I watched the person with a low blood sugar panic about a number I wouldn't have panicked about over treat it, then have to bolus later for it. And then I looked around at the rest of the people in the, in the area and I thought, I wonder how many of these other people are having issues that I'm just not aware of right now. Is it some of them? Is it all of them? I wonder how many of them, if I took their graph right now, are rotting this like super flat line and how much of this is just personality, right? Because in the end, if you, if you took all of their diabetes care and gave it over to, you know, a third party that would make the good decision, the right decision at the right time, they would all probably be having better outcomes. And these people seem, I know that some of these people, they're intelligent, like, they're bright people, they want well for themselves. Like, why did they not do that right then and there? And I don't know, like, I stood there and I tried to decide, like, what leads one person in one direction and one person in another direction. I have no idea. All I can tell you for sure is you're paying attention to it. You've now done 90% of the work because you're interested. You know what I mean? Like, you wouldn't be here if you weren't interested. You agree?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So if I ask you what's in the way, it would be beneficial if you didn't say, yeah, yeah. Instead of telling me that you don't have access to good food, which sounds like something you heard on cnn, you would instead say, I don't make good decisions around the food I'm eating. And like, and sometimes it's processed, but I don't pre bolus it. And then I blame the food, and then I blame my situation because I had to take the food and blah, blah. It's just you, man. It's you. Across the spectrum of your financial situation, we are all in A world of our making. Once we're in that world now, we didn't make the world that we got put into. You didn't give yourself diabetes, but here you are and there is no door. So you're living in this world now. Everything that comes after that is you. You're born broke. You didn't want that. It's not your fault. I understand. But here you are. You're born with a bunch of money. You end up being an same situation. You're making your own decisions. And, you know, it's easy to look around and say, I wish things were like this, or it's not fair. And you're not wrong. I'm not going to tell you wrong, that it's not fair that you have Type one and other people don't. It's. I could talk about it in the other direction and it's insanely unfair. And I could cry about it with you right now if you wanted to, too. And I would be. I would be being 100% honest with my feelings. But that is just not the situation you're in, man. You know what I mean? You're that blonde guy. You're up in space with that rock. Just. Did you see the movie? That project? Okay, well, you. Well, you opened your eyes and now you're in a tin can and you're floating through space. What are you gonna do next? You sit there and bitch about it? You're gonna try to figure it out. I mean, that's pretty much it, right? You know, So. I don't know, man. What do you think? Is it doable?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How? Put it together for me.

[B]

Just making the right decisions. Repeatedly.

[A]

Yeah. Well, what does that mean, though? Dayto day? Like, put it into. Put it into context.

[B]

Pre bulling, taking care of the lows before they get too low.

[A]

Stopping a high blood sugar before it happens.

[B]

Before it gets too high. Maybe lowering my high alarm.

[A]

Yeah, right, right. If it does get high, don't stare at it for hours before you do something.

[B]

Yep. Change. Change out my sight before I go to bed instead of waiting till the morning when I know absorption is an issue.

[A]

That's a great example of the bigger idea, which it's all. Once you start going through these things, you're going to see they're all the same thing. It's all act first. Right. It's all like. If you listen to that pro tip series you heard me say at some point, I used to do this when I was speaking in public. I used to say this a lot. I used to Say, have you ever been in a fight? And somebody would raise their hand and I'd say, okay, do you want to get hit first? Do you want to hit them first? And everybody who's been in a fight said, well, I would want to hit first. Like, yeah. And you know why? It's because then you dictate the pace of what happens next. You're in charge. You made a decision, and now everything follows your decision. When you get hit, now you're following the decision that that person made. You're going to be on defense the entire time. Put yourself on offense. Just say to yourself, like, I'm gonna act. My pod's gonna expire. My set's gonna go bad at 7 in the morning. But I could probably just. I'll probably wake up at seven. Even if I don't, like. Even if it's like, nine, it's okay. I'll only be without insulin for a couple hours. So, like, it'll be like, don't do all that. Just change this damn thing before you go to bed. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, because change your pod before you go to bed is the same as your blood sugar. 70. I could have just had some sugar right there.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

It's just deciding to do the thing that needs to be done at the right time instead of being put in a position where you're now forced to do a bunch of things at the wrong time, which ironically puts you in a much worse situation than you. I want to make sure I say this right. You said earlier, I don't want to be told what to do. So I'm not going to change my. But let me. Let me speak it out for you. I'm not going to be told. I don't want to be told what to do. I don't want to have to change this pump site before I go to bed. So that's me being told what to do by diabetes. So I won't do it. And instead, I'm going to wake up in the morning with a high blood sugar. I'm not going to feel well. I'm going to have to rush around. But now think about that. Now you have a high blood sugar. Now you have to take care of the high blood sugar. Now you have to change the pump, and you're not going to have as easy of a time of changing the pump as you would have before. You're now being told what to do by the problem. Yeah, Right. So there's diabetes, and then the problem that comes later. You feel like if I don't listen to diabetes, then I'll just deal with it. But what I'm telling you is you're not listening to diabetes. So later you're just going to have to listen to the problem. The only control is acting before either of those things get a chance to hold power over you. That makes sense.

[B]

Yes. You can't hear me shaking my head.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[B]

But, yeah, nodding yes. Thank God.

[A]

I can't hear you shaking your head, Dakota. Can you imagine? I was like, what is that? You'd be like, those are the rocks in my head. They're banging around. You're also a very bright person. You're a thoughtful, nice guy. I've known you for a while now. Do you know that about yourself? Yeah.

[B]

You're not the only person who said that.

[A]

Yeah. You're a lovely person. So why don't you be lovely to yourself for a while?

[B]

I'm always about making other people happy before myself.

[A]

Well, Dakota, stop doing that.

[B]

I know. And I feel like if I had, like, someone behind me, like, telling me to do these things, hey, change your pump, you know, eat a glucose tablet. I would do that for. I do. I would do that.

[A]

You would do it for them. Just wouldn't do it for yourself. Yeah, yeah. Welcome to being human. Now, here's the rest of it. Stop doing that.

[B]

I know.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, there's no magic like. I know. People are used to listening to podcasts where they bring on these experts. I'm making quotes with my fingers. They give you the plan you need a 21 day plan to a new you, Dakota. I mean, would that be better? Do you want to. Do you want a buddy system? You want to get involved? Just up and do it. Okay. Like, because the alternative is don't do it. Live miserably, die. How about do it, Live happily, die. It's a lot better. You know what I mean? And in the end, this is how it's going to. I mean, we're not. And also, by the way, at your age, with the way things are going, you know, I hate to say it like this, but 100 could become the new 80 in your lifetime. You want to be miserable for the next 70 years?

[B]

Oh, no, I don't know. An extra. An extra 20.

[A]

Just like 20 more.

[B]

I didn't sign up for that.

[A]

I can't even get through my 20s now. You're talking about 20 more years. But you can. Like, you are. You are a person who is set up perfectly to be okay. You're thoughtful, you're bright, you're motivated. But you just. You grew up in a time where it's just. God, I don't want to sound like this because I don't. I don't know if I mean this completely yet, but. And we are just talking it out. But I don't think enough bad happened to you. Like, I think that you have an expectation for life that's reasonable if nothing goes wrong, but not. And by the way, you would have found a different way to be disappointed because of the way your, your generation grew up. Like. Like, dude. All right, you ready?

[B]

Yes. Lay it out.

[A]

I was born and in short order, the woman who gave birth to me gave me away to the state of Pennsylvania. Then someone adopted me. And then those people, 13 years later, after fighting for most of my, you know, my recollection, got divorced. I was broke the whole time I've been alive. Okay. There is no money at all. So my dad's yelling, smoking cigarettes. My mom's scared, doesn't want to stick up for us. My dad kicked the out of me every once in a while when he got frustrated. It didn't seem like he liked the kid who like, you know, had his own thoughts. Leaves on my 13 on my 13th birthday, like I'm telling you, we had dinner for my birthday and he left. That was a lot, man, that felt like that was my fault. Later my mom told me, well, she didn't tell me. She was telling a friend on the phone and I overheard her that my dad said he left because of me. Now, my dad had been cheating on my mom for 20 years and was terrible person to her, but found a way to blame me when he got to open his mouth about it wasn't his fault that they weren't married anymore. It was my fault. So I had to get through that. And then I graduated from high school and I went to my high school graduation. I came home, my mom gave me a piece of cake, said good job, and I Woke up at 5 o' clock in the morning and went to my full time job in a sheet metal shop that I had already been working for like the last three years in high school. That day, as a reward for becoming a full time employee, my pay went from 450 an hour to 475 an hour. I eventually moved it up to five an hour. Dakota. I didn't have a car or money, so my uncle gave me a car that didn't run. I got it running even though I didn't have a father or any idea how to get it running. And then I had to get a $3,000 a year insurance policy to drive the free car, but I made 475 an hour. So the $3,000 was a large chunk of the money that I made every year just so I could go to work. So you would say, well, why would you do that? And what I would say was, I wanted to find out what was on the other side of this experience. I was never going to get to what was on the other side of it if I didn't figure that out. I've never figured this out with another person before. But 475 an hour times eight, times 20, before taxes, I made $760 a month, and I probably didn't pay much in taxes, so let's just call it $700. So 7, 14, 21, 28. I worked four and a half months to pay my car insurance so that I could go to work, so that I could then have the money left over from the other. Let's call it 11 months at $700. So I worked all year for $7,700 in my pocket, and I did that for years. Eventually, I got a raise to 550 an hour. I don't want to tell you, tell you differently. And then one day a friend of mine said, hey, I got this job collecting credit card debts, and it pays like, I forget. It was like $12 an hour. Would you. She said to me, you talk good. Which I was like, yes, done. And I quit my job. And I took all my cuts and burns and scars and bruises from working at that place. And I put on a tie, and I went into an office and I sat at a computer, and for eight hours a day, I shook the life out of people who couldn't afford it to get their payments. And I hated it. It made me feel terrible. So as soon as I did that, you know what I did? As soon as I realized how bad it made me feel, you probably think, oh, you quit or you got another job, right? No, I didn't do that because I needed the money. I kept working. And then I went there every day and felt horrible, and they paid me extra money. And I used that extra money and that experience to parlay that into a slightly better job where I went to a credit union to do collections for them. But it was least it was friendly collections. It was a credit union. So it was sort of like, hey, Dakota, it's Scott. Did you forget to pay your car payment? And you'd go, I did. Oh, I'm an idiot. And Then you'd transfer it over out of your account. I go, thank you.

[B]

You're telling me that's as bad as the credit union gets? And I've been ignoring them.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, the credit union was much like that. Right. And then one day the graphic designer of the credit union quit. And I heard somebody talking about that they were in trouble. And I walked into the human resources department and said, hey, I'm really good with computers. I can do that job. I was not a graphic designer and I had no idea what I was talking about. And they sat me down at a computer and I, I used Adobe, I forget what it was, Photoshop and something else. I designed something for them. And I said, I need, I said, this computer sucks. I need a slightly computer. This piece of software, that piece of software. And if you send me to a weekend training course for that software, I can do this job for you. And she said, why would I do that? And I said, I will do it for far less money than somebody else will. And she went, okay. And then she gave me the job. And then I figured out how to make the visual needs for a credit union, a pretty big credit union. And then I did that for years and I was still not making for, I think at that point I was making $25,000 a year maybe at that credit union. And my wife was building her at that point. Then we got married. My wife was building up her thing. Eventually I became a stay at home dad. I didn't know the first thing about raising a kid. I figured all that out too. Those kids are in my house somewhere right now. They've never done meth and they're employed. Okay. And then I moved on and on and on. I didn't know how to save money. I taught myself how to save money. I didn't know how to eat well. I taught myself how to eat well. My life sucks, man, if I don't do something about it. But instead I just did. And it doesn't happen as fast as you want it to, but it's 100% not going to happen if you don't do something. You just got to get going. Yep. You know, just put yourself out there. Fail, don't fail, have some wins. You're never going to even see the wins, man. You don't see them. You see the wins in hindsight, the failures hit you every day in the face, the winds. You see in hindsight. So that's going to be a thing you're going to have to say to yourself is I'm Going to put my head down and keep going until I look up and I'm on the other side of this cloud. And I have no expectations for how long that's going to take or what it's going to feel like while I'm doing it. I'm just going to do it every day over and over again until I pop out. And then, dude, you're going to pop out so much sooner than you think. You know what I mean? And then your life's going to be completely different. And then you're probably going to name a baby after me, and then that kid's gonna have adhd and, you know, it's okay. And then you'll figure that out with him or her. Whatever happens, you'll just keep going. And then you'll die at the end. And right before you die, if you're lucky, you won't get hit by a car. You'll have a couple minutes to think about it, and you'll think, man, I started off in a hole, and then I got diabetes, man, I really thought I was shot then. And then I talked to some guy on a podcast and I started doing the right thing. And, like, look at me now. I got. I raised a family, and I have a home, and, you know, I put some money aside and I've been on a few vacations, and I've got some great memories. And then you're going to shut your eyes, and that's going to be the end of it. So if that's the truth, if that's how it ends, no matter what, you might as well do a good job while you're here, because what the hell, you know what I mean? What's the alternative to that?

[B]

Not trying and having the exact opposite outcome?

[A]

I'd rather try and fail than not try and fail.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, because at least you tried, and you can. I'll tell you what, you build a pretty good foundation of confidence on trying. You know, I got out there, I swung my hands and kicked my ass, but, okay, here I am still. And I got up and I did it again the next day. You're gonna get knocked. I mean, I don't want to be trite, man, but you're gonna get knocked down a lot more than you're gonna win. You just gotta keep going. It's not a movie. Like, this is not a movie. This is what this is. And it can be great. And there's going to be moments of just pure joy, and there's going to be moments where you're going to really look at yourself and think, man, look what I've accomplished. And then you're going to realize that the T shirt slogan really is true. And it's not the destination, it's the journey. And then you'll be okay. That's it. Come to my funeral, Dakota, would you please? Yes.

[B]

Send me an invite.

[A]

Thank you. Well, yeah, I'll get. I'm gonna need a few of you to show up to tell the rest of these nudniks that I was valuable to you. I really don't know another way to put it. Like life and diabetes, it's all the same thing. Everything's the same thing. Do you know how I tell you? It's timing and amount. That's what diabetes is. You're using the right amount of insulin at the right time, and if you really distill it down, that's the truth. Good settings, making decisions about where to put your insulin in. It's timing an amount. Life is effort. That's it. Just try and have no expectations for what success looks like, and you're going to be a happy person and find some people and love them and let them love you back there. What else do we need to do? This was awesome. I'm fantastic.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you. You have a good sense of humor. You're already halfway there.

[B]

No, I. Yeah, no, I do, but I. No, I feel like everything you said, I. Deep down, I already know that that's what I should be doing.

[A]

You should just wake up every morning and think, let's go. And then just go out there and whatever that ends up being is a win. That's what it is.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. Now you're good. That's what it is. Then you just get up. The next thing, you could do it again and do it again and do it again, and one day, it won't look like that anymore. You won't even know how it happened. Just make good decisions, man. Like when some. When you have an opportunity, think about it for a second and do what your gut tells you, and then just keep going. What do you. Where's. Where's the job now? What are you working at? Same place as last time.

[B]

Yeah, but I'm the assistant store manager now.

[A]

Oh. So prior to the last time I spoke to you, you were not the assistant store manager. Now you are. Yeah, Right. And one day, you'll probably manage the store.

[B]

I don't want. No.

[A]

Oh, no, you do want. You know. Listen to me. Yes, you do. You want it. Bring it on. Is what we say, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, you want it. You want responsibility, you want something to tax you. You want to get out there and have to swing your hands because then you're going to learn something else and you're going to apply something else. You might just wake up one day and your friend might go to you. I know you hate working at the store, but you talk good. You want to come collect debts with me? And I went, get me out of here, let's go. Right? Because if I don't have my head up for that and I'm not paying attention Now, I'm a 54 year old guy working in a sheet metal shop. But you want to know the funny thing about that? Is that sheet metal shop went under 20 years ago. So I would have been a 34 year old guy with nowhere to work and skills that were probably outdated. And I don't know what I would have done. Think of this as like canoeing down a river. And every time, you know, you come up to a bunch of forks in the, in the river, you. It gives you a minute to think about it and you go, okay, I'm going to try this and if it's. That was the wrong thing, just keep the boat upright till you get to the next one and try again. You just. I can, I mean, I can metaphor you to death here if you want. Just don't give up. Keep going. Listen, I think I probably did it when I was young too, okay? But I might not have had as much of an opportunity because I grew up so poorly and so broke. But you got to stop blaming other. Like just. It doesn't matter whose fault it is. And you might be right, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't change your situation. If I push you out of a plane and I tell you, don't worry, the parachute works. I checked it and you pull the cord and it doesn't open. Well, you're still falling out of the goddamn plane. It doesn't matter if I didn't do it right or not. Like, this is what's happening, you know what I mean? Like, you are now in a new situation and that situation is not your fault. It is not of your making. And it doesn't matter because it's still happening to you. So now what do you do next? The plane thing's probably a bad example because there's not much to do because you can flap your. Tell you what, I'd flap my goddamn hands. I really would. You would watch me falling out of a plane Without a. A parachute. And go. That's a stubborn son of a. Up there. He's trying to fly. That might be your metaphor, man. Flap your arms. You know what I mean? Like, get after it. You've got. I don't know. So, okay, what does this look like, real life? You got to do what I mean, I might make a list if I was you.

[B]

Let me get my pen and paper.

[A]

Yeah, Yeah. I. I think maybe we should write it down. Also for people listening. Life's not that hard. Like, life's hard, but the doing the thing. It's not that. Just do the thing. Just do it.

[B]

That's what it comes down to.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Just do it. It doesn't matter what your situation is. We all go to a bunch of movies and we watch people in terrible situations. We come and we go. Oh, they made the best of it. It was so lovely. Like, he was. He was locked in that camp for 30 years, but he never gave up hope. And then you get in your own situation that's not nearly that dire, and you give up immediately. Unbelievable. Everybody. Everybody. Should have had my dad kick their. Under a coffee table a couple of times. It might have. Like, street, you might have been like, I gotta keep. I gotta get the. Out of here. Maybe life's not bad enough that you need to run away from it a little bit. I don't know. We got our paper. Yep. All right, you want me to rattle off a few and then we'll fill in the blanks?

[B]

I started. Let's just do the thing.

[A]

Yeah, do the thing. That's. Yeah. Timing an amount. Get going. By the way, my wife is coming back from a business trip. She somehow ended up in Switzerland during the hantavirus.

[B]

Oh, whoa.

[A]

She texted. I just landed. My son sent a GIF of a guy spraying just, like, a spray in the room. Yeah. With this.

[B]

With his. His shirt.

[A]

You know? You know, the gif.

[B]

I feel like I do. I don't know exactly, but I can see it.

[A]

It's from the. I never watched the show. It's a bunch of super smart people, Sheldon.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Big Bang three.

[A]

Yeah. Is that what you're picturing?

[B]

I think so. Yeah.

[A]

Okay, now. Okay. Let me say this to you, Dakota. This is the problem with your generation. I should not have been able to say, there's a guy spraying an aerosol can. And you knew what it was. You motherfuckers are not spending enough time on other stuff. How did you know that got to work.

[B]

It's funny. No, I was showing My dad, I was. He was acting like this guy and I was. I showed him this. This clip, this meme, and he's like. He got offended. I wasn't acting like that. And I was like, no, it's just funny because it reminded me of this video. And that's. Yeah, that's literally how my generation just.

[A]

All that time you spent with your dad on that. Could you just pre bowls with that time, please?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Stop with the TikTok or whatever. Pre boss our meals, count the carbs, understand the impact of the fat and protein. You know, you can use the estimator on my website to help you for a while until you get it up, until you get the idea together.

[B]

Yeah, I don't know much about fat and protein.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just from what I've heard on the

[A]

podcast, there's fat and protein in food and it impacts your insulin needs. Yeah. So, I mean, do you drink coffee?

[B]

No, but I drink energy drinks.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, well, there's a lot of caffeine and energy drinks that make your blood sugar go up. And those energy drinks have sugar in them as well, right?

[B]

I. I don't drink sugar drinks.

[A]

Okay, good. So you're drinking, but you're still drinking something with like 88 milligrams of caffeine in it or something like that, right?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, it's 200 milligrams.

[A]

And is your. Jesus. And does your blood sugar go up when you use that?

[B]

So if I am like, not if it's like first thing in the morning and I haven't hydrated first? Yes.

[A]

Do you bolus for it?

[B]

No, because it's zero and I know, like, that's wrong. Zero carbs. Obviously it's gonna have an blood sugar because of the caffeine. Yeah.

[A]

But I don't know, it happens and it happens every day. But you don't bolus for it.

[B]

It doesn't happen all the time.

[A]

And then you wanted to come on here and tell everybody that I let. Let you down. Is that right?

[B]

Yeah. I screwed me over up my life. No, I did not.

[A]

Listen, you got to do the things right? So f. So maybe it impacts you, maybe it doesn't figure that out and then take care of that. But in the end, like, it's good for you. It's gonna be good settings and timely decisions.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean? Just doing. Doing those things at the right time. And if you tell me I can't because I have adhd, I'm gonna tell you that you're talking about it. So Use the time you're talking about it to put alarms in your phone to remind you to do things. That's it. Just make an alarm that says, that pops up and tells you pre bolus for breakfast. And then when it goes off, do it. And if you don't want to, and I'm being sincere, you're. You're an adult, okay, if you don't want to, that's fine, but never can complain about it again because it's a decision you made. Don't complain about your decisions. Go live in it. You want to do heroin, do heroin. Don't tell me you're sorry about it. Just shoot it in your arm and sit there and die. Have the courage of your convictions. Do you know me? Because you either don't want it to be that way or you want it to be that way. And so make your decision to stand behind it. Yep, that makes sense. Yep.

[B]

I don't want it to be that way. Do something about it.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. If that's your lot in life, if that's how you feel, I mean, just have the nerve to embrace it. You know what I mean? I have an example, but I don't think I can say it out loud here because I think people won't like me. But just go be the thing you're going to be then, and be happy being that thing. Live a shorter life, happily. Don't beat yourself up over and over and over again. Like, just say, okay, I guess I'm not a person who's going to live a long, healthy life. At least I'm going to live a short, happy one. Like, at least do that, you know? I mean, if you were my kid, that's what I'd say to you, the people listening. I wouldn't say that to you. What I would say to you people is, please do the right thing and take good care of yourself. But, like, you know, if. If that's going to be your situation, do it. And if that turns out to be your situation and you think, I don't want this, then go see a therapist and have them help you figure out why it is you're doing that. Because, you know, I don't want you to hurt yourself and I don't want you to have a poor outcome that is against your desire for yourself that you're battling with something else. I don't. I mean, we're only talking for a little bit here. I. I can't possibly know all the intricacies of your life. You know what I mean? Like, so. But in the end, like, whatever those intricacies are, the only way to get around them is through. You know what I mean? You just got to put your head down and knock them over.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Be persistent.

[B]

What else you have the juiceboxdocs.com. does that have therapists on there or just endocrinologists at the moment?

[A]

It doesn't have therapists. Where are you at? What state are you in?

[B]

I'm in Iowa, and I am always searching around for, like, a good therapist, which I've had one in the past, but I need someone who focuses and knows more about diabetes.

[A]

You could try writing a note to Erica, who's on the podcast. I don't think she can cover Iowa, but you could ask her if she knows where you could find somebody who would be good. I bet you she could maybe help you.

[B]

That would be.

[A]

Yeah, it's a good place to start. Right? Just put yourself out there. See what you can figure out. If you just said to her, hey. If you said, hey, my name's Dakota. I've been on these episodes of the podcast, and I really feel like I need a therapist for these reasons. I know you can't do it, but is there someone you could suggest or even a network that you could point me to that would help me find somebody?

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And that would be something. But that's going to be you doing something. You know what I mean?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And by the way, even just now when you thought about doing it, didn't you feel better?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. You think, oh, I could do that. I could send Erica a note and ask her to help me, and she probably would help me, and maybe I'd end up in a better. It's already your forward thinking differently than before. And Dakota, I'm not like somebody who's like, I'm not a Boo Hooper. I'm not. I'm not like, oh, gosh, everybody just feels sorry for themselves and they don't try. This is a terrible situation you're in. I'm not telling you otherwise. I don't think it's right. I don't think it's fair. If you put me in charge, I wouldn't certainly let you stay like this for five seconds. But none of that changes the reality of it. And if you're waiting for somebody else to change the reality of your situation, you will wait indefinitely and then die. It is not. No one is going to step in and save you. You know, there's people who can help you, but they aren't going to come find you like, you Know, you can't just sit there going, I'm a good person. When's this going to change for me? Because the answer is going to be never. If you're just sitting there trying to explain. If you're trying to explain a meme to your dad, this is going to be a long day. How come I've never seen this show? People love it.

[B]

Yeah, it's good. And then there's, like, a young Sheldon, which is like, I saw a spin off of his childhood.

[A]

I saw a couple of those, and I was like, okay, that's enough. I got it.

[B]

And then there's a spin off of that show.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. With a brother gets married to some girl or something. Yeah, I'm not gonna watch that either.

[B]

It's too far down the rabbit hole.

[A]

You know why? I'm busy fighting life off, that's why. It's over here trying to kill me every day. And I'm. I got my hands up. And by the way, it's funny, I. My life's not nearly as dire as it was at one point, but I still come from that perspective. And I can even tell you that nowadays, that's, like. That's detrimental to me. So I work against that. Like, I build up a defense. It's so thick. It's not necessary for the new world I live in. Instead of just being a prick, I think, okay, well, let me fix this. Gives you something to do. I mean, you know what I mean? Like, pick up the rock, take it to the ant. He'll put it down. Go get another one. What are you busy? You know, Seriously, look at you. You got a phone call, people. Is that my house or yours? Hold on.

[B]

No, nothing here.

[A]

It's here. Sons of bitches. It's probably just Walgreens telling us that something's not available. That's pretty much the extent of the phone calls. Also, US Med calls here. Usmed.com juicebox if you'd like to learn more. Do you feel okay?

[B]

I feel fine. Yeah. I like. Yeah.

[A]

All right. Hey, high, high level. How's the Medtronic 780G?

[B]

Not working out too well for me. Can you believe that?

[A]

So to. To go over it. Tandem, Omnipod, Medtronic. None of them work for you?

[B]

I didn't do Tandem, Omnipod, Eyelet, Medtronic.

[A]

Excuse me, Omnipod. I let Medtronic all don't work. What do you think you've learned during this one hour about that statement?

[B]

I'm the common denominator. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, you're the only. Yeah, it's you.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

So, you know, apologize to the other. Write them a note. So, sorry, I shouldn't have left you. I mean, seriously, how many times have you seen somebody break up with somebody and then realize they're miserable and then real was the problem in the relationship?

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

That's all. All right. Well, I've basically fixed everything for you in an hour.

[B]

Yeah. Yes.

[A]

Yes. All you have to do now is the incredibly difficult work of doing that.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

By the way, man, after you do it for a while, it's not hard. You just have to give yourself over to it. My best example to you is that at some point after I was collecting credit card debts and then became a credit union graphic designer, I by mistake, got my wife pregnant. The baby was going to come out no matter what in nine months. So we started looking at daycare, and I thought, I don't want to put my baby in daycare. So I went to my wife and I said, you should probably quit your job and stay home with the baby. And she laughed directly in my face because she had, like, a career and, like, a path, and I was, you know, I was making, you know, handouts for a credit union. And she said, well, you. I think you'd be really good with kids. And I agree with you. I don't want to put the baby in daycare either. Do you think you could stay home with them? And I thought about it for a while, and it was not an easy decision. It sounds easy like, oh, I don't work anymore, but you give up a lot of yourself when you do, when you give up your work and when you give up what you feel like is dreams and ideas of what you were going to do and everything. So at first, I tried to play it down the middle. Like, I tried to be in two places at once. Like, oh, I'm still going to do this, and I still have my eye on doing that, and then I'll take care of this kid. And about a year into it, I was like, this is unfair. Like, I'm not putting as much effort into him as he would get. If my wife was here, she would definitely be doing a better job than I am. I need to do a better job. I need to make raising him a thing that I get, like, real joy from. Like, instead of the idea that I was going to chase something else down and be happy when I got to that, why don't I just be happy here with him in this thing that we're doing together? And I Gave myself over to being a stay at home parent. And I just, I just. Anything else I thought I was going to do with my life, I thought I'll do it later and if I don't, I'll be happy that he's healthy and feels loved and that we spent this time together. I gave away all my other hopes and dreams and found a way not to be upset by that. And I made him and that task. I'm like, this is what I have. I want to want what I have. And I think that's the thing people struggle with. I think everybody wants something they don't have and, and they're angry with the thing they do have. You could just decide to want the thing you have and then just put your effort and time and skill into that. And I did that. And he's 26 now. He's a good person. He's out in the world. He seems pretty healthy. He's, you know, making good decisions. I'm happy to watch him live in his life. And I did that to some extent. Like I put him in that situation that, that's what I did. By making, you would say, people would say some sort of a. I don't know, I gave something away for him to be happy. But I don't see it that way because I feel completely fulfilled by what I did because I decided that that's what I wanted. You just have to want to do this. Decide that like a stable blood sugar after a meal is a thing you care about, that you want. And then you'll feel good about working towards it. You'll feel good about it when it works out. You'll feel motivated when it doesn't. You'll try harder the next time and you'll feel like that ant whose job it is to take the rock and put it on the pile. You'll feel accomplished. I wanted to do it, I did it, I accomplished it. It builds up your confidence and you can move on and put that on something else afterwards and just do that over and over and over again until you die. And then that's it, it's over. You did it.

[B]

Not that hard.

[A]

Not that hard. It really isn't that hard. Life's not really that hard. Like things make it difficult. And there could be somebody living right now who's like, I live under a rock, Scott. Life's pretty hard. You're right, it is. And I would tell you I want you out from under that rock. But while you're there, make as many good decisions as you can because that's pretty much the only pathway out from under the rock. No one's coming to save you. The government's not coming. Your mom's not coming. Some magic man. The sky's not coming. It's you. You and the rock. Make good decisions. Try to get on top of the rock. Once you're on top of the rock, make better decisions. See if you can get out of the desert. Get out of the desert. Make a couple more good decisions. Takes you your whole life. Who cares? What were you doing anyway? You're living under a rock, so I think we're good. I think you got this.

[B]

I think so.

[A]

All right. When are you coming back? Let's not put a time frame on. I don't want to pressure you, but. But do this now. So don't wait till Monday. And then, you know, make yourself a little plan. Stick to it as best as you can. Stay flexible with the plan. If the plan's not working, change the plan. If you fail at the plan, do not beat yourself up. Just go back to the plan. Keep going. A day is going to turn into a week's going to turn into a month. It's going to turn into a year. You're going to look back on this and not recognize yourself. And then all the rest of you out there listening, just apply what I just said to whatever it is you have trouble with, and you should probably be okay. Just tell yourself it's not that hard. People do it all the time. I could be one of those people easily, right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

All right, Dakota, I'm sorry you didn't get to say how bad the mini med 780G is.

[B]

Oh, I was looking forward to roasting it so much.

[A]

I got your email, and I was like, I know how this is going to go. He just doesn't know. But that's because I got to talk to you before. So I have a little bit of a vibe about you.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Yeah. Did you meet a girl yet?

[B]

There's been a couple.

[A]

That's a boy. Remember last time I gave you that good advice?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And you took it. Are you happier?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. I'm not telling you. I'm not telling everybody that. What I told him was, go get laid. But I. I said, get out there. Meet some people. Right. Makes you feel. It makes you feel good out there, meeting people, doing stuff. Nice one day. Dakota.

[B]

I'm there. Yeah.

[A]

All right, man. It's good to talk to you again.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You all right with all this? Because people are gonna say I ran you over and Beat you up.

[B]

And no, I. I need to hear it from someone, you know? So I'm perfectly fine with it.

[A]

Little tough love, that's all. Yeah, I do. I really care about you. I see you on the board. We've talked before. I have a vested interest in your success now. Plus, you're my emissary in the world. If you do well, people are gonna think I'm a genius.

[B]

Great. And I can tell them it's all because of Scott.

[A]

Oh, well, I mean, that would be appreciated if you did that. Like, how great would it be if it was a podcast review one day? Like, he's like, my life used to suck, but now it doesn't anymore. All I did listen to Scott was listen to Scott. Then I'm gonna take that review, show it to my kids, and they're gonna go, I don't care. I'm not listening to you. You're an idiot. I'm like, okay, fair enough. All right, give me one second. Okay. Hang out with me. The conversation you just heard was sponsored by Touched by Type 1. Check them out, please, at touchedbytype1.org on Instagram and Facebook. You're gonna love them. I love them. They're helping so many [e-mail] head now to tandomdiabetes.com juicebox and check out today's sponsor, Tandem Diabetes Care. I think you're going to find exactly what you're looking for at that link, including a way to sign up and get started with the tandem mobi system. I'd like to thank the Eversense365 for sponsoring this episode of the Juicebox Podcast and remind you that if you want the only sensor that gets inserted once a year and not every 14 days, you want the Eversense CGM. Eversensecgm.com/juicebox One year, one CGM. Okay, well, here we are at the end of the episode. You're still with me. Thank you. I really do appreciate that. What else could you do for me? Why don't you tell a friend about the show? Or leave a five star review? Maybe you could make sure you're following or subscribed in your podcast app. Go to YouTube and follow me. Or Instagram TikTok. Oh, gosh, here's one. Make sure you're following the podcast in the private Facebook group as well as the public Facebook page. You don't want to miss, please. Do you not know about the private group? You have to join the private group. As of this recording, it has 74,000 members. They're active, talking about diabetes, whatever you need to know. There's a conversation happening in there right now, and I'm there all the time. Tag me. I'll say hi. Hey, what's up, everybody? If you've noticed that the podcast sounds better and you're thinking, like, how does that happen? What you're hearing is Rob at wrongwayrecording doing his magic to these files. So if you want him to do his magic to you. Wrongwayrecording.com. you got a podcast, you want somebody to edit it, you want Rob.