What do you do amid a Crisis?

What do you do amid a Crisis?

Life is full of crises. Sometimes they are as visible to us as the day and other times we just find ourselves caught up in crises we never anticipated in the first place. In the case of visible crises, it is as simple as becoming aware of the danger of not planning for that journey well in advance. You pretty well understand that failing to plan is as good as planning to fail.

Unfortunately, part of that planning may require the use of resources that may not be present at that planning moment. So, you will be aware of the looming crisis but then it may not be within your control. In other cases, you may forget only to come face to face with the crisis when it finally catches up with you.

It is the same with what people call the midlife crisis. We are all aware that it does exist, and we sometimes try our best to plan and be ready for the times when it comes. It, too, is as simple as trying to be on the safe side as much as possible to ensure that when that desire for change comes, we will be insured from any shocks that may arise. Part of the measures for the insurance may be investing your money anticipating a huge return or cash out to ensure financial security in the future.

Then comes the unanticipated crises. An example would be the loss of savings or even having prepared for the journey very well and being ready for the journey, and come the day of traveling you get to the bus or train station well only for you to reach for your wallet which had the money or travel ticket and to your surprise find out it is missing. Then you encounter a crisis you did not anticipate. What do you do when faced with such situations?

If you can, just press forward

I hope it is not only me who finds himself confused about what to do next when caught up in a crisis. There is a risk of simply staying still and waiting for the worst to happen. It is akin to a traveler crossing over a bridge and while in the very middle, the bridge starts to swing dangerously. The choices are only two. Either press forward or go backward. Forward lies the trophy and backward lies nothing.

If your crisis can equate to such a situation, the best thing to do is to press forward. Why press forward? Because the risk of going backward or forward or even sitting still and doing nothing is the same. It is better to press forward because you may end up with the prize. In the case of a midlife crisis, there is no choice because life just goes on. Progression is forward by default. Perhaps this should teach us a thing about how to face other crises in our lives.

In a nutshell, the crisis should never instill any fear in you to the point of paralyzing you till there is nothing you can do. If you can pounce back with vitality as soon as you can, please do.

Don’t forget the lessons

A crisis is one of the best lessons to learn from in life. I have been a seasoned leader and executive and I have always discovered that crises are the best ways for gaining experience and growth.  Once faced with those tough moments, and managing to pull through, one is not only able to develop the muscle to face tougher situations in the future but also develops the strategies for handling similar situations. And what do we call that if not growth?

This gives us a hint why hiring organizations are often looking for situational crisis analogies and how they were navigated in candidate applications to understand whether they are hiring people who can solve problems or instead they will be hiring people who only create more problems.

Seek help

One thing has been reiterated for ages and will continue to the very end. That no man is an island. In various instances in this life, we will need to work with other people. Collaboration is one of the most important things for personal and business growth. And collaboration involves people.

So, it is important to seek help from other people when in a crisis if possible. There are people probably who have been faced with the same crisis before and they can give you some great insights on how to sail through your crisis. Truly speaking, the crisis may not be a replica but the insights from others can be adapted to your current situation and be very helpful.

In conclusion, crises are not only bad. They have a positive part to them that helps us become better versions of ourselves. What you do amid the crisis determines whether the crisis gets to have a positive outcome in the end or simply becomes another part of those things we dread in our lives.

Geoffrey Ndege

Geoffrey Ndege

Geoffrey Ndege is the Editor and topical contributor for the Daily Focus. He writes in the areas of Science, Manufacturing, Technology, Innovation, Governance, Management and International Emerging Issues. For featuring, promotions or support, reach out to us at info@dailyfocus.co.ke
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