Don’t Freak Out

1:27:20 – 8.10 miles

In my work life I come across many panic situations. I’m not the one having the panic attack, but am the one that has to field, answer, and respond.

Fortunately I don’t work in an ER or save burning buildings, so I have time to gather a plan. The challenge I run into is my response to those meetings. My immediate response is calm and investigative. Voice stays cool, questions are inquisitive, and work to understand the severity of the issue. The challenge this entails is that I’m not exuding the same panic as others. That can be perceived as not caring, too laid back, or not understanding the urgency.

I get it. When there’s a fire you want everyone to go go go and put the fire out. What if there is no fire? What if it’s just a little smoke from someone burning popcorn again? Before sending out a fire truck that could be going to a real fire, shouldn’t we pause for a moment?

We are an impatient world. With access to information at our fingertips, we want answers, and actions immediately. When Steve Jobs’ died, I found out on Twitter 12 minutes before major news networks commented. Our minds look for resolutions to happen overnight.

This happens in our work, family, and politics. Lately we have heard a lot about the government needing a change and that the president hasn’t made enough change. This again goes back to the need to have change happen quickly. The challenge here is the number of people, organizations, and geographically spread area that is involved in making and implementing a change. The current structure, whether good or bad, has been there for over 200 years. Some would argue that it’s difficult to make changes so that we don’t have a knee jerk reaction to an event. Others would argue that the system is antiquated and needs to change with the 21st century.

Either way, some change takes time. This is especially true about situations you don’t have full control of. When it comes to training for a race, no matter the distance, you have to lay a plan and then work it. If you have never run before, you probably shouldn’t wake up one morning and run a marathon. There are those that can do that, but often there is repercussions.

My message is: don’t freak out and go with the flow of life. Move through the waves of life using the tools you have available in that situation.