Q: When does “a single moment” make all the difference in the world? – SCN Encourager

A:  When it’s used to break the grip of depression.

So says Chris Brogan.

I’ve written about him before.

He’s a successful business coach, author, productivity leader… and striving to be a good father is his highest priority.

There’s a lot to admire.

Brogan also values telling the truth.

So I shouldn’t have been surprised to read Brogan’s essay about his personal battles with mild clinical depression and his ongoing struggle to keep up with a heavy workload and assorted creative pressures.

While I wasn’t surprised by Brogan’s genuine transparency, I was surprised by HOW I came across his essay.

It was “hidden” toward the end of social media expert Mark Schaefer’s book “Known.”

Schaefer’s book is a straight-from-his-heart-to-your-heart guide to personal branding and it includes a number of tips for being consistently creative, engaging, and productive.

Now I know you haven’t seen any of Schaefer’s tips actually improve my skills any, but you shouldn’t let this keep you from picking up his book.

It’s excellent and filled with ideas, tactics, and real-world case studies highly relevant to what we do.

Because “Known” is all about getting noticed (duh!) and being your best creative YOU, Brogan’s essay wasn’t out of place.

As I said, I was just taken aback when Brogan’s kind words of support popped up when they did.

He described his burden well.

Brogan shared how he frequently just wants to stay in bed.

How he’ll waste time on Facebook and watching movies.

And how he’ll just want to crawl back into bed and sleep (some more).

It’s not behavior he’s proud of.

But he’s content to be honest about who he is… how he copes… and he’s eager to stand alongside others who are similarly pulled down.

Brogan employs an inner game to make forward progress.

It’s a largely mental one, of course, but an important “activity” is required.

Whenever he’s laying bed and feels he can’t get up, Brogan will tell himself to get up and “take one moment to create something helpful.”

This could involve posting a photo on Instagram, writing a text, or emailing a friend.

It could just be saying an affirming word to his wife or teenage son.

It doesn’t have to be anything big at all… just a single “helpful moment” to intentionally insert into his day before moving on to whatever he must or whatever he is able.

Brogan says it’s funny how these moments then stack up.

Because often, before he’s aware of the time, Brogan will find he’s written a blog post, thought up an idea for a new project, outlined a future podcast, or updated one of his presentations.

Sure, it’s a game.

It’s not fancy.

But it’s his and it works.

Brogan’s game breaks the downward momentum and enables the completion of little wins.

(Plus… you can’t beat the price. It’ll only cost you some grit and gumption!)

And yes, I hear you loud and clear.

I’ll try this out myself sometime soon.

I know you’ve been waiting to see if I can create something helpful!

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