Choosing Crisis

Article as appeared in The New Leaf ™.

Ah, the Internet. What an opportunity to choose to live in crisis! In the past three months I've moved Web sites and changed distribution methods for this newsletter twice. That's presented plenty of opportunities for drama and intrigue, and I've learned a marvelous lesson about choosing to be in crisis--NOT.

My Web sites and The New Leaf are not just marketing tools. They are the cornerstones of ongoing relationships with each of you, and they are a reflection of my process, my standards, and my aspirations. It is easy for me to become very identified with them and to regard problems with them as crises.

I was starting down that road about a month ago in response to a system failure, when the light came on. As is often the case, it was a physical sensation that flipped the switch: I noticed that I was feeling "that way" again. "That way" for me includes clenched jaws, a tightening of my brow, setting my shoulders and feeling of pressure in my lower back. I was getting ready to fight, to ward off damage and to defend my position. In short, I was defining the situation as a crisis.

In that moment of awareness I knew I had a choice. No matter how important the situation, no matter how much I stood to gain or lose, it was not necessary to regard it as a crisis. In a moment of grace I understood that I could choose to respond to the problems without getting all wound up. In fact, I could be more effective if I chose to hold the problems lightly and to consider my options.

Part of me resisted this choice: it wanted to prove that things were serious by raising a fuss. After all, I pay good money to have things work out, and (so said my gremlins) I had the right to kick up a fuss. People count on me (notice how self-importance feeds into the call of crisis!) and I "needed" to make an issue of this.

Big deal. This time I chose to step out of crisis mode. I evaluated the state of emergency and rated it "low to medium." I took the time to research my next move and to plan for it. I also realized that the next solution would have its own set of problems, and I resolved to let them be non-crises, too.

If these moves have caused you any inconvenience (a missed issue, an email to me that never arrived, links that failed to produce the promised Web pages) I hope that you find everything working well today. If you have a problem, let me know. Your satisfaction is important to me and to my exceptional Virtual Assistant, Debbie. While we won't make it a crisis, we will be sure to resolve the problem to the best of our ability.