What I do With My Depression
How I Power Success using depression as fuel.
I’ve written about depression before. In fact, I’ve written about it a lot. I’ve given interviews about it, too. And I should start by saying that my depression is a very mild kind, and I’m not on any ongoing medication for it. Many people have it much worse than me.
But the gist of all my writing about depression carries with it a slightly different message than you’ll read out there quite often. I tend to tell people this: don’t let depression be an excuse. Let it be a “yes, and” condition. “Yes, I am sometimes depressed AND I have work to do.”
What I Do With My Depression
Today (the day I wrote this anyway) is the day after I went through a quick cloud of depression. First off, it would’ve been a much bigger cloud, but I have built a requirement into my life that says “stop it as soon as you can.” My girlfriend, Jacq, also pushes me out of my depression as fast as possible, letting me know that it’s never okay to wallow in it. (We do this by permission and agreement. Don’t ever just push people out of their depression — it might not be what they need.)
On the day after my bout with depression, I had a very successful consulting call where I learned a lot more about how to build a successful magazine. I reached a new fitness goal (my weight is now the lowest it’s been since 2005, and before that, 1989). And I have had several really good and meaningful business conversations with people to advance my company’s goals further along.
I used yesterday’s depression as fuel for today’s achievements. Why? Because I have work to do. I don’t want depression to ever be the excuse. In fact, I don’t allow for excuses.
The “No Excuses” Mindset — now with more #noexcuses hashtag!
I’ve made sure that I work on my fitness and nutrition every day. This one change in how I do what I do over the last few months has morphed into other daily rituals that I ensure happen without fail. Sometimes, this means changing how I accomplish things, but the point is, I never allow anything to be an excuse. The commitments that I cover with this #noexcuses mindset become really helpful to me in accomplishing even more in my business.
What I do most with my depression is remind myself that it’s not an excuse. I choose that. It’s not a given. You have to choose it. Or you don’t. That’s for you to decide.
But me? Over here? I’m using my depression to fuel my success. And I invite you to try the same approach. What do you have to lose? You’re already depressed.
Chris Brogan is publisher of Owner magazine and a New York Times bestselling author. His next book, The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth, will come out in spring 2014 from Wiley.
