This morning, I was woken up by my roommate's call to give me a ride. At first I was wondering why, since she has a rental she has been using, but then she told me that her car had been stolen! I was surprised since I live in Bethesda, in a pretty quite neighbourhood.
I don't want to get into the whole story here since we are sorting it out and things look like they will be OK, but it did make me realise something, and I knew this all along. This morning was a wakeup call. We, as in normal people, do not take crisis very well. And this is not just from todays experience, I had lost all my documents a year ago and it took me a little while to figure out a plan of action.
The first few hours/minutes/moments are the most crucial and most of us lose that in panic. Instead of thinking of the possibilities we start thinking of consequences, which really is no help at this juncture. Worrying is of no help either. All they do is take up precious time and distract you from doing what you need to do.
Persistence is the key, to get things done, most people, who we depend on during a crisis, need motivation, so just keep bugging them, they will eventually give in.
That said, when something does happen, you can only do so much, and once you have done all you can, theres no point in worrying about the outcome. Some of these situations have been defined and addressed in our society and have pre-defined processes, which is all we need to follow. The hard part is finding about them. Heres where good friends become useful. Don't think twice about putting them to work, there are there for you.
At my
squad, we do drills about mock scenarios to test/practice our ability to handle certain situations. I cant tell you how valuable they are. They really help you cope with what we see out there. I just wish there was something like this for life. Wouldnt that be wonderful?
