How many times have you come across a situation and begin to freak out? Everything around you stops and you have a dramatic moment of total mental chaos.
Having a meltdown brings progress to a halt. You think the only way to handle it now, is to overreact with emotion. You may not even think it, you just unconsciously give in, because that’s what you’ve seen others do.
There’s no need to have such a reaction. When you learn to respond thoughtfully, your mind has a chance to create a solution, as opposed to adding to the issue.
Train Your Brain
When first responders are in training, they are learning how to think through potential dilemmas. It’s important for them to know how to respond constructively in any situation, even if there are distractions.
Imagine if someone was hit by a car and the ambulance came. The first responder looks at the person who was hit and starts to freak out about how bad it looks. How helpful would that be?
First responders are trained to remain calm and to provide assistance – not to put on a dramatic performance and make things worse.
It’s the same with how we react to the challenges that life gives us. When something happens, don’t have an attitude of, “Oh no, my life is ruined! I’ll never get over this! It’s over! This is so bad!”
Respond thoughtfully. Think, “How can I make this happen? How can I help? What are the steps I need to take in order to make this happen?”
Be Solution Driven
Find a solution. Instead of giving in to your emotions and seeing the worst, build the habit of being solution focused. Most of the time, your reaction hurts the situation more than it helps.
Practice being calm and supportive. When everyone is in chaos around you, be the one who has ideas on how to move forward. Don’t let panic drive the situation further into the ground.
Even when you become angry, control it. You can feel angry, but at the moment, you need to react appropriately to the situation. Responding with anger usually doesn’t lead to an answer to your issue.
In other words, being emotional doesn’t give you any options to go on. When you are solution driven, you have a better chance of making progress.
Let’s Figure It Out
It takes discipline to keep your composure in times of disarray and confusion. When you stay focused on what’s actually happening in front of you without adding extra emotions, you have a far better chance of solving the issue.
Concentrate on what you can change, instead of what you can’t change. Give yourself the opportunity to push things in a positive direction. There are things you can do to improve the situation, but you must figure it out and not freak out.
As always, you have a choice. You can either respond with your emotions or respond by thinking and taking constructive action.
Put your emotions aside and be of help to those in need. Use your energy to be resourceful and control what you can.
#BeGoalden