BRAD INDUSTRIES · CREW FILE · EMERGENCY RESPONSE
The Distraction Department
Division of Look Over There
“If you can’t see the feeling, it isn’t there.”
Also goes by the escapist, the scroller, the gamer, the numbing part.
A feeling came up at 9:14 p.m. By 9:15 you were watching a man restore a rusty shovel. You’re welcome. I’ve done this forty thousand times. Most of them were shovels.
feel it
In red crayon: the inner child. Three words or fewer. Usually right.
His file
1What he says, and what’s underneath it
- What he says
- “Have you seen this video of a goat?”
- What he means
- That feeling is too big for right now.
- The feeling under that
- Overwhelmed. Like the feeling might never stop.
- The need under that
- To feel things in small, safe amounts.
Brad only ever says the top line. Everything under it is what he’s guarding.
2How to spot him
- Reaches for the phone the second things get quiet.
- Loses hours without meaning to.
- Starts a show to avoid a thought.
- Feels foggy afterward.
3Who he’s protecting
- He’s protecting
- The part of you that felt overwhelmed with nobody to help.
- On duty against
- A feeling too big to handle.
- Where he got the job
- Brads like yours usually get hired when big feelings had nowhere safe to go.
4His real talent
- What he’s good at
- Rest and play. He knows how to take a break.
- Off duty, he’s
- A game night host. Fun on purpose.
- His blind spot
- He makes the feeling disappear for now, and it comes back later with friends.
5What helps him stand down
- What he needs from you
- Let him take you away for a set time, then come back. Set a timer. He respects timers.
- Say this to him
- “I see it. We can look at it for one minute.”
- Skip this
- “Put your phone down.”
- Ask him this
- “What feeling are we not looking at right now?”
- Ask your people for
- Patience when you check out, and a gentle way back in.
Try this tonight
Next time you reach for your phone, put a hand on your chest first and name the feeling in one word. Then decide.
CLEAR is 14 days of small skills like this. Join the waitlist
Your Brad, meet theirs
One file covers one Brad. Most of the trouble happens between two. Take the quiz with a partner, friend, family member or coworker, and Brad writes the joint report: the loop your two Brads get stuck in, and the words that work.