Never Underestimate Your Impact
This one is for all the content creators out there. The small ones that don’t necessarily feel that they are making an impact or that their content has meaning. In May 2023 I was a guest on Gen X Jeff’s Show. He was doing a series on mental health with a focus on men’s mental health. We messaged a few times and I told him that I was part of my workplace Employee Assistance Program for a few years. I said I would love to talk about the importance of mental wellness and Employee Assistance Programs in workplaces. We had a great chat about it and I shared it out when it was posted. After that like all projects you sort of just move on to the next one. Jeff moved on with his show and I moved on with my show.
It was Winter 2023 and one night I was working on some things at night and I got a random direct message from one of my followers. We had interacted a few times before on Twitter but I wouldn’t say that we really knew each other in more then a para-social context. I usually check DM’s when I get them and I am very glad I checked them immediately that night. This follower told me that he wasn’t doing well and he was thinking about harming or even offing himself. He had seen my episode I did with Jeff about mental wellness and the Employee Assistance Program and decided to message me because he didn’t know what else to do. Immediately upon getting this DM I got his phone number and called him. Over the next two to three hours this man poured his heart out to me about his struggles and they were very real & difficult struggles. I had handled situations like this at work through EAP but I usually had a team that I could call in to assist me with. I also usually had the person in the same room as me. I also have a list of local resources I could connect people with. This one was different he was Provinces away and didn’t have any supports. So the risk was higher. The details of the call are not mine to discuss but by the end we had moved to forward thinking, had a safety plan and he promised to call me back in the morning. I also looked up some other numbers he could call if he was having an immediate emergency. He also promised that if he started to get those severe negative thoughts again that he would just call me back immediately. I didn’t sleep well and had the volume on full blast in case he called. When the next day came around I didn’t know if he would call, I was prepared to call some resources in his city to check in on him if he didn’t. He did call back the next day and we had a few more conversations and check ins over the next few weeks. He was doing better and so the calls tapered off and we went about our lives. It’s a small story, a blip on the radar of my life but I still think about it because of the impact.
So this man watched/listened to a random sort of unknown podcast episode with a unknown podcaster and months later in a crisis situation reached out to someone they barely knew on the internet through a DM for help because they felt they had no one else to turn too. The variables in the situation for everything to work out well the way it did are so utterly small yet it all came together. It worked out and potentially saved someone's life. Miracle? Well, I leave that up to individual discernment.
So I implore you that if/when you think that the content that you put out doesn’t matter, that no one is listening to what you are saying, just know that you may be having a much larger impact in someone else’s life than you realize. The content you put out does matter and it does have an impact. Don’t let the numbers guide you, don’t let the trolls or naysayers get to you and let the impact that has on others even on a micro level inspire you to keep going. This isn’t just for creators it’s also for your everyday interactions with others, even people outside your circle. Small actions can have big impact and can change the course of someone’s life. Never underestimate your impact.
I wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas. Please ensure that you check in on people during this season.
If you are interested in the livestream I did with Jeff talking about workplace Employee Assistance Programs it can be viewed here.
You just never know who you might reach. When I gave up smoking I found myself on Reddit posting comments in the Quit Smoking forum. Then I ended up in the Stop Drinking forum writing short pieces. I didn't think many would read it but weeks after a post I had forgotten about someone messaged me to say it had helped him stay on the wagon and not drink when he was tempted.
You don't know who will see your message, so do it anyway and try to divorce yourself from the immediate impact.
Every little helps.
We are dropping seeds with everything we write and talk about in videos. You never know when God will lead people to what you said because it will be the perfect thing in the perfect timing. We don't know when or where those seeds grow, that's up to God. It's just up to plant the seeds. Thanks for sharing this story and I hope it plants seeds in more content creators as well to keep up with it regardless of comparisons with what others are doing. Merry Christmas!