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Robin Williams' advice for people who are depressed is really touching and important.

In 1978, Robin Williams pretended it was 40 years later and explained what made him survive.

Robin Williams' advice for people who are depressed is really touching and important.

This article originally appeared on 08.13.14


There's a quote going around the Internet attributed to Robin Williams that goes as follows: "You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."

Here's where that quote came from. Williams was performing at the Roxy in 1978 for a brand new comedy special on a little known network called HBO. In the audience were a surprising group of people: Henry Winkler (The Fonz), Tony Danza (before he was famous), and even John Ritter, who does a weird round of improv with Williams in the show.


Robin Williams Spark Of Madnesswww.youtube.com


Trigger warning: discussion of suicidal thoughts. If you decide to start reading my personal story here, please read through the end.

When I was a kid, I was all over the map.

I was an ADD-riddled hyper-awkward nerd, jumping from thing to thing without a trackable train of thought, making jokes, going on tangents, freaking out, jumping around, and generally being weird. People didn't know how to talk to me.

At the time, I was struggling with the bullying I was getting regularly, and one of my hobbies was contemplating places to commit suicide. My grandfather's retirement community was seven stories tall and had a nice roof. I imagined plunging those seven stories to my death, and I'd show those bullies who was boss. Which was not the smartest thing to be thinking. Because they wouldn't realize anything. I'd be dead, and my family would have to live through that pain for the rest of their lives. It's the worst option ever, and you should never do it.

When I was 10 years old and discovered the genius of the comedy album "Reality ... What A Concept," I knew I had found a kindred spirit and role model in Robin Williams.

I wanted to be him. The kinetic energy he presented himself with reminded me of me, and I figured even though kids bullied me for being a freak, there was someone else who made it out of school in one piece who acted like me in a small way. I memorized his routine like it was Shakespeare. (And, in fact, at one point, he did a Shakespeare routine about porn.) I told the jokes to friends even though I didn't get half of them.

Robin Williams was everything to me. His jokes made me realize there was more to life than just ending it. I started thinking about the family members I'd leave behind, how upset they'd be, and what I'd miss out on. I'd never get to perform at the Roxy. I'd never get to be on "Saturday Night Live."

When I heard about Williams' death by apparent suicide in August 2014, I was sad. For me, 28 years later, as a father, it wasn't him I was worried about. It was his children and the pain they were no doubt dealing with as their father lost his fight with depression.

The even worse thing about celebrity suicides is that they actually can be contagious. People see the glamorized tributes and start to think that somehow they are a good idea. Let me be clear, they aren't.

Listen to some advice from someone who knows and talked about it on Reddit:

I wish he would have listened to his own advice.

As we mourned, and continue to mourn, the loss of the incredible Robin Williams, please know that if you are suffering, you are not alone.

Many of us here at Upworthy have struggled with depression, and lots of things have helped us get better — from therapy to medication to yoga to meditation to running to memorizing comedy routines of incredibly talented people and other activities. And you can get better too.

If you are in distress right now, please call (800) 273-8255. We love you. Someone else loves you. And copying an incredibly self-destructive act with your own will only lead to more pain and suffering, not only for you, but for those who love you.

Share this and let those you love know how much they are loved, and if you need help, please just ask. There's a better way than what you may be thinking.

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Land O'Lakes® products are made from milk sourced directly from member-owned farms, including butters, cheeses, spreads and other dairy staples loved by consumers for cooking, baking and snacking
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Land O’Lakes and Clove are filling the nation’s food banks with much-needed butter and shoes

Land O’Lakes and Clove are teaming up to bring comfort to communities in need.

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Food banks are a community staple for millions of Americans. Not only do they provide nutritional assistance to low-income families, they’re also often one of the few places where people can get non-food essentials like diapers, toiletries, paper towels, clothing and more. For the 44 million people in the United States facing food insecurity, pantries can literally be a lifeline.

But that lifeline is at risk. Food pantries rely on donations, both from individuals and government programs, to stay stocked. Rising poverty levels and budget cuts mean that food pantries sometimes can’t meet the demands of their communities—and as a result, families go without.

No person should struggle for basic needs—which is why Land O’Lakes is teaming up with Clove in the name of comfort ahead of the 2025 holiday season.

Comfort, meet comfort.

A partnership between a farmer-owned cooperative and a modern footwear brand might seem like an unusual pairing. But the reality is that both organizations provide things that are enjoyable and much needed for American families.

You might be surprised to learn, for example, that dairy is one of the most requested but least-donated items at food banks around the nation. From a nutritional lens, dairy is a source of high-quality protein that provides 3 of 4 nutrients—calcium, potassium and vitamin D—that low-income households are at risk of missing from their diets.

But on a larger scale, dairy provides comfort. Items like butter, milk and cream are in high demand, particularly around the end of the year since so many families use these items for baking holiday treats. And while shoes can be stylish gifts, they’re also a basic necessity for hardworking frontline workers who provide care for others and spend hours on their feet. In fact, 96 million people in the U.S. spend their work shift standing.

"We are so excited to collaborate with Clove Shoes and take a moment to celebrate the color of the moment, but also our everyday favorite, butter yellow," said Heather Anfang, president of Land O'Lakes Dairy Foods. "As a company who shares our values of community, hard work and comfort, we are thrilled for the launch of their shoe but also for our shared donation to those in need in an important area for our two brands in Philadelphia."

Meaningful giving when people need it most

Together, the organizations have donated dozens of sneakers and more than 3,750 pounds of butter to Philabundance, one of the largest food banks in Philadelphia and part of Feeding America’s nationwide network of food banks, pantries, and meal programs. As they team up to donate needed supplies, they’re also helping families feel nourished—inside and out—ahead of the cold winter months.

"As a Philadelphia-based brand, we’re proud to give back to the community we call home—nourishing our city and supporting those who care every day," shares Jordyn Amoroso, Co-founder and CBO. Clove has also gifted 88 shoes to the students enrolled at Philabundance Community Kitchen: a free, life-changing workforce development program run by Philabundance.

At a time when so many are stretched thin and families are moving into the holiday season facing food insecurity, collaborations like these can provide an unexpected value—a chance to revitalize local communities, to nourish families, and show how comfort can take many different forms.

Learn more about this unexpected partnership here.

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Learning

27 English words people have a hard time enunciating properly, even native speakers

"The word I notice people struggle with is 'vulnerable'. Something about that N following an L is tricky."

Image via Canva/Povozniuk

English words that are difficult to enunciate.

The English language is hard to master, even for native speakers. With over an estimated one million words in the language, not only are English words hard to memorize—they can be hard to properly pronounce and enunciate. Getting tripped up with pronunciation can make your communication unclear, or worse—make you sound uneducated.

As American English teacher Vanessa explains, many mispronounced words are common and used in daily conversation due to tricky consonants and vowels in English words. But by knowing the proper pronunciation, it can help you become a more confident speaker, which is why she shared 33 words that are hard for English language learners to pronounce, such as "probably," "drawer," and "sixth."

On the subreddit r/words, a person posed the question: "What's a word you've noticed many native English speakers have difficulty enunciating even though the word is used fairly often?"

Turns out, there are a menagerie of words people notoriously stumble over. These are 27 English words that people say are the hardest to enunciate.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Tricky 'R' words

"The word I notice people struggle with is 'vulnerable'. Something about that N following an L is tricky." - common_grounder

"Rural." - Silent-Database5613

“'Nucular' for nuclear." - throwawayinthe818

"Remuneration v renumeration (first one is correct)." - RonanH69

"February. It sounds like you're pronouncing it like it's spelled Febuary. But it's spelled February." - SDF5-0, ShadedSpaces

"Mirror. Some people pronounce it 'meer'." - weinthenolababy, diversalarums

"Anthropomorphize is a word I have to use semi-frequently with limited success each attempt." - ohn_the_quain

"I can’t say the phrase 'rear wheel' without considerable effort." - ohn_the_quain

"Eraser (erasure, but they're talking about the pink rubber thing)." - evlmgs

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Multiple syllables

"Exacerbated vs exasperated." - SNAFU-lophagus

"'Asterisk'. A lot of people wind up inadvertently name-checking Asterix. I think it's best for those who struggle to use the alternative name for that punctuation mark, the 'Nathan Hale', after the American patriot who famously declared, 'I can only regret that I have but one asterisk for my country!'" - John_EightThirtyTwo

"I realized recently I have always mispronounced mischievous. It's mis-chiv-us, not mis-chee-vee-us. I don't know if I've ever heard anyone pronounce that correctly." - callmebigley"

'Supposebly' [supposedly]. Drives me up the wall." - BlushBrat

"Library. My coworker knows I hate it, so he’ll say Liberry every time." - Jillypenny"ET cetera, not 'ect' cetera. I think people are used to seeing the abbreviation etc and since there is no diphthong tc in English their mind bends it into ect." - AdFrequent4623

"The amount of people who say Pacific when they're trying to stay specific is pretty alarming. I'm not even sure if they know it's a different word sometimes." - Global-Discussion-41

"Then there was my old boss who would confidently and consistently use the word tenant when he meant tenet." - jaelith"

"Probably." - Rachel_Silver

"Contemplate. It's one of those word I hear people stumble over more than anything, often it comes out as Comtemplate, Contempate or a combination of both." - megthebat49

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Foods

"Turmeric. People drop the first R. It drives me nuts!" - Jillypenny

"Oh, and it’s espresso, no X [ex-presso]." - Jillypenny

"Also cardamom with an N." - nemmalur

"Pumpkin (punkin)." - evlmgs

espresso, espresso gif, sipping espresso, espresso drink, drinking espresso sipping modern family GIF Giphy

Awkward vowels

"Crayon 👑. My ex pronounced it 'cran'. Drove me up a wall." - rickulele, premeditatedlasagna

'Mute' for moot. A good friend of mine, who's extremely intelligent and articulate otherwise, says that. Unfortunately, it's a word she likes to use. I haven't had the heart to tell her she's pronouncing it incorrectly, and it's been three decades." NewsSad5006, common_grounder

"Jewelry." - weinthenolababy

"I hear grown adults calling wolves woofs and they're not doing it to be funny." - asexualrhino

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Math teacher assigns class to come up with punny math jokes and they did not disappoint

"This is just pure gold and their little expressions."

Photo credit: Canva

Math teacher assigns class to come up with punny math jokes and they did not disappoint.

Dad jokes are the best. Okay, that's just my personal opinion, but hear me out: Dad jokes are always clean and are generally reliant on some sort of pun or very obvious reality, which makes them nearly irresistible to find amusing. The person on the receiving end may not double over in laughter, but they likely cracked a smile while planning to save that joke for another day.

Terrica Taylor Barlow, a math teacher in Birmingham, Alabama, recently assigned her class to come up with dad jokes: math edition. The students really embodied the entire process of telling a punny joke, complete with the look of embarrassment over the absurdity of it all. But every time the joke landed, laughter erupted, and those who were sheepish about their dad jokes smiled the smile of victors.

math jokes; dad jokes; punny jokes; math class; class assignments; student fun; fun teacher Kids enjoying learning together with a laptop.Photo credit: Canva

These jokes weren't just the corny ones you'd see on the front of a Conversation Heart. These jokes were top-tier math puns, and some kids even gave their best math pickup line for their assignment. In the very first few seconds of the video, the viewer knows they're in for a treat of silliness and laughter. The little girl who tells the first joke starts by saying, "I got another math joke." After getting the go-ahead from her teacher, she launches into it: "Parallel lines have so much in common," she says. "It's a shame they'll never meet."

She immediately covers her face in embarrassment as the entire class bursts into laughter.

math jokes; dad jokes; punny jokes; math class; class assignments; student fun; fun teacher Joyful student aces math class!Photo credit: Canva

One of the students decided to go with the long-lasting relationship between fractions and decimals, saying, "Why did the fraction break up with the decimal?" A very good question, to which the student answered, "Because they couldn't see the point."

In another peek at fractions, a student asks, "Which king likes fractions?" (Insert Jeopardy music here), "Henry the 8th." The laughter was so loud after that one, the girl covered her ears.

Measurements are not lost on one student. He asks, "Why can't a nose grow 12 inches?" After a dramatic pause, the student answers with, "Because then it would be a foot."

Puns make the world go round, and these kids will be dad joke connoisseurs by the time they have children of their own. While these jokes aren't coming from a parent teasingly embarrassing their child with their ridiculous jokes, they do serve a purpose. They require each child to critically think about the math concepts they've learned, the social setting they'll be in when the joke is told, as well as become more resilient to embarrassment in front of classmates. It's a multipurpose assignment that carries the students into the weekend on a high note.

Commenters can't get enough of the jokes the kids tell. Many applaud the teacher for giving her students such a fun assignment and sharing the results. Some even share their own dad jokes.

math jokes; dad jokes; punny jokes; math class; class assignments; student fun; fun teacher Students collaborate in a lively group activity.Photo credit: Canva

One person writes, "This is just pure gold and their little expressions ❤️🔥."

Another says, "This is the kind of education that inspires and uplifts!"

Someone else chimes in, "The uproarious laughter they each get from the class is the best part."

"That teacher ADDED laughter to and SUBTRACTED boredom from learning. She MULTIPLIED student interaction and DIVIDED camera time between all students. The SUM was A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!!!" One person applauds.

This person offered up their own joke, "I have a maths joke. 'Why was the math book so sad? Because it had too many problems.'"

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Science

The longest — and probably largest — proof of our current climate catastrophe ever caught on camera.

It was the largest such event ever filmed.

Exposure Labs

All GIFs and images via Exposure Labs.

Photographer James Balog and his crew were hanging out near a glacier when their camera captured something extraordinary. They were in Greenland, gathering footage from the time-lapse they'd positioned all around the Arctic Circle for the last several years.

They were also there to shoot scenes for a documentary. And while they were hoping to capture some cool moments on camera, no one expected a huge chunk of a glacier to snap clean off and slide into the ocean right in front of their eyes.


science, calving, glaciers

A glacier falls into the sea.

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Massive swells created by large chunks of glacier falling away.

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It was the largest such event ever filmed.

For nearly an hour and 15 minutes, Balog and his crew stood by and watched as a piece of ice the size of lower Manhattan — but with ice-equivalent buildings that were two to three times taller than that — simply melted away.

geological catastrophe, earth, glacier melt

A representation demonstrating the massive size of ice that broke off into the sea.

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As far as anyone knows, this was an unprecedented geological catastrophe and they caught the entire thing on tape. It won't be the last time something like this happens either.

But once upon a time, Balog was openly skeptical about that "global warming" thing.

Balog had a reputation since the early 1980s as a conservationist and environmental photographer. And for nearly 20 years, he'd scoffed at the climate change heralds shouting, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

"I didn't think that humans were capable of changing the basic physics and chemistry of this entire, huge planet. It didn't seem probable, it didn't seem possible," he explained in the 2012 documentary film "Chasing Ice."

There was too much margin of error in the computer simulations, too many other pressing problems to address about our beautiful planet. As far as he was concerned, these melodramatic doomsayers were distracting from the real issues.

That was then.

Greenland, Antarctica, glacier calving

The glacier ice continues to erode away.

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In fact, it wasn't until 2005 that Balog became a believer.

He was sent on a photo expedition of the Arctic by National Geographic, and that first northern trip was more than enough to see the damage for himself.

"It was about actual tangible physical evidence that was preserved in the ice cores of Greenland and Antarctica," he said in a 2012 interview with ThinkProgress. "That was really the smoking gun showing how far outside normal, natural variation the world has become. And that's when I started to really get the message that this was something consequential and serious and needed to be dealt with."

Some of that evidence may have been the fact that more Arctic landmass has melted away in the last 20 years than the previous 10,000 years.

Watch the video of the event of the glacier calving below:

This article originally appeared 10 years ago.

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14 weird English words that sound made up, but aren't

From collywobbles to susurrus, these bizarre words are real.

Photo credit: Canva

The weirdest sounding English words that sound totally made up, but are actually real.

Whether you are a native English speaker or trying to learn how to speak English for the first time, there is no denying that the English language is filled with tons of absurd-sounding words. With so many weird sounds and vowels, it is a unique language to master.

And the reason why English is filled with bizarre-sounding words is rooted in its history. English has continued to transform and evolve ever since its origins in the 5th and 6th centuries, according to the University of Texas Permian Basin. English has been influenced by a number of dialects and cultures ever since, including from German (via Anglo-Saxons), Latin, Old Norse, French, and more.

This amalgam led to English as we know it today, with many strange-sounding words remaining. These are 14 weird English words that sound totally made up, but are actually real:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Apparatchik

An apparatchik is "a blindly devoted official, follower, or member of an organization (such as a corporation or political party)."

Merriam Webster notes, "The apparat in apparatchik (a term English speakers borrowed from Russian) essentially means 'party machine,' with machine referring to a highly organized political group under the leadership of a boss or small group of individuals: apparatchik originally referred to someone functioning as a cog in the system of the Communist Party."

Flibbertigibbet

A fllibbertigibbet is "a silly flighty person."

Collywobbles

Collywobbles, "as in cramps; abdominal pain especially when focused in the digestive organs."

Merriam Webster also notes that its "earliest print appearance dates from around 1823. We also know that the word probably came about through a process called 'folk etymology.' In that process, unusual words are transformed to make them look or sound like other, more familiar words. Collywobbles is believed to be a friendlier-sounding transformation of cholera morbus (the New Latin term for the disease cholera) that was influenced by the words colic and wobble."

Floccinaucinihilipilification

Floccinaucinihilipilification is "the act of considering something to be not at all important or useful."

@donhuely

The Daily Word: Floccinaucinihilipilification | Reposted with Captions Definition: (noun) Rare. the estimation of something as valueless Performed by: Don Huely Written by: Don Huely with ChatGPT Edited by: Dougie McFallendar Music by: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 by Sergei Rachmaninoff & Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland #huely #wordoftheday #thedailyword #Dougie69mf #fergusOshay #Rachmaninoff #Copland #Floccinaucinihilipilification

Susurrus

Susurrus is "a whispering or rustling sound."

Syzygy

Syzygy is "the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (such as the sun, moon, and earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system."

According to Merriam Webster, "Syzygy can be traced to the Greek syzygos ('yoked together'), a combination of syn- ('with, together with') and zygon ('yoke'). Zygon is also the source of zygote ('a cell formed by the union of two gametes') and zygoma, which refers to several bones and processes of the skull, including the zygomatic bone (a.k.a., the cheekbone). Zygon is also related to the Old English geoc—the source of the Modern English yoke—and the Latin jungere, from which the English words join and junction are derived."

Widdershins

Widdershins is "in a left-handed, wrong, or contrary direction."

Catawampus

As an adjective, catawampus means "fierce, savage or destructive." As a noun, it means "a fierce wild animal, a bogeyman."

@ellenthagreat

“CATAWAMPUS” [kat-uh-wom-puhs] adjective — askew; or awry. #wordoftheday #newword #vocabulary #english #dictionary #catawampus #mondaymotivation

Quincunx

Quincunx is " an arrangement of five things in a square or rectangle with one at each corner and one in the middle."

According to Merriam Webster, "In ancient Rome, a quincunx was a coin with a weight equal to five twelfths of a libra, a unit of weight similar to our pound. The coin's name comes from the Latin roots quinque, meaning 'five,' and uncia, meaning 'one twelfth.' The ancients used a pattern of five dots arranged like the pips on a die as a symbol for the coin, and English speakers applied the word to arrangements similar to that distinctive five-dot mark."

Chthonic

Chthonic means "of or relating to the underworld."

Bumfuzzle

Bumfuzzle means "confuse, perplex, fluster."

Sigogglin

Sigogglin means "diagonally or on a slant; askew, obliquely, sideways."

The Oxford English Dictionary explains that this word originated in the Appalachian region of the United States, and first emerged in the 1860s.

Dawdle

Dawdle means "to spend time idly."

Kerfuffle

A kerfuffle is "a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict."

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Derek Jeter found out on live TV he missed a teacher conference. His co-hosts reacted perfectly.

"We weren't supposed to still be on the air."

Chris Ptacek/Wikimedia Commons & TechCrunch/Wikimedia Commons

Derek Jeter got a concerning phone call from his kids' school live on air.

All parents have experienced the uncomfortable moment when your life as Mom or Dad collides with your career. It could be the call from the school nurse in the middle of the work day, the fever discovered in the morning right before your big presentation, or your kids who are home on school break photobombing the Zoom meeting with your boss.

Being a world-famous athlete and TV personality can make a lot of these problems go away, but apparently not all of them. Even mega-celebrities sometimes struggle to balance their parental duties with career commitments. That's exactly what happened to MLB legend Derek Jeter on a recent telecast.

Jeter, a Hall of Fame shortstop, now works as an analyst on Fox Sports. During a recent game, a rain delay forced Jeter and the rest of the crew to fill three extra hours with coverage and analysis. And then his phone rang live on air.

While in the middle of speaking, Jeter's phone went off.

"Sorry. It’s a rain delay. I had a parent-teacher conference that I’m going to miss. So, sorry guys," Jeter said as he silenced the ringer.

The response from Jeter's co-analyst, former player David Ortiz, was so wholesome:

"Take it! Take it" Ortiz yelled. "Take the call, man." The gang enjoyed a good laugh at the slightly awkward broadcast miscue, but Ortiz wasn't joking. He doubled down a moment later when he said, "Kids first."

Host Kevin Burkhardt then quipped, "Derek has a parent teacher conference to go to, so we're going to take a break." At first, he appeared to be teasing, but he then admitted, "Well, we weren't supposed to be on the air, you're right! This is a surprise to all of us."

"I actually should get on it," Jeter then said, checking his phone again.

"You should go do your thing," Burkhardt said. Ortiz then added, "We got you, dawg."

The video went viral when MLB on Fox posted it to Instagram, and people couldn't say enough good things about how the men handled the situation.

"Best part is, everyone else was like 'go, that’s more important, we got your back'" one commenter said.

"The best part was all the other supporting men on that stage actually meaning when they say 'go man, take it'" added another.

"These men are the best thing to happen to sports in a long time… they’re funny, real humans and pro hands on dads!"

"A+ parenting. A+ teammates encouraging him to take it."

"The man who refused to have children until he finished playing because he wanted to be totally committed to fatherhood or the game. Way to go Derek for being an incredible father"

(That one is true, by the way. Jeter is on record with Fox News saying, ""The one thing I can say about my parents is: They were always present. It’s so hard when you have kids—I don’t care if it’s one kid; I have four kids—you want to be there, and then when you miss a day or two, you come back, and they completely change," and that he tries his best to emulate them.)

parenting, fatherhood, dads, famous dads, celebrities, derek jeter, mlb, yankees, family, work, career Derek Jeter Nod GIF by ESPN Giphy

The video even caught the attention of world-famous family psychologist Dr. Becky, who found the entire exchange to be an incredible teachable moment for other working parents.

She says she often speaks with parents who worry immensely about how their bosses and coworkers will react to their family obligations, causing tons of anxiety and mental strife.

Her advice was simple and pretty brilliant:

"What if people around me think I'm slacking and think I'm not doing a good job?" she said parents often worry. "You might not have [Ortiz] next to you telling you, 'Hey, we've got this, go do that thing for your kid'"

But that doesn't mean we have to feel alone and judged.

"If we are going to make up the thoughts of other people, we might as well make up that those thoughts are supportive. So the next time you're struggling ... imagine everyone in your workplace saying, 'We've got this. Go do that. We support you.'"

In a culture that rewards hustle and sacrifice and does not always do a good job accommodating people who want to have both careers and families, it's nice to see an example of what a supportive workplace atmosphere can look like.

It's great that Jeter wants to be there for his kids, but what's even better about this viral clip is the encouragement he gets from his fellow hosts and analysts that family, indeed, should come first.

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