Do You Operate in Crisis Mode?
by @bethvogt
“This is a deadline, not a crisis.”
I woke up in the middle of the night with that phrase running through my head.
I’d gone to bed a couple of hours earlier frustrated yet again. Staring down a looming writing deadline and an insufficient word count.
I’d been chasing that deadline for days – weeks, really – and always coming up short. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
I ended each day anxious. Calling myself a failure because I wasn’t accomplishing the goals I set for myself.
Then I heard those words: “This is a deadline, not a crisis.”
And I could breathe again.
I knew God, who promises me rest and hope, had whispered those words to my weary heart.
A deadline is manageable.
A crisis? That’s overwhelming.
It’s so easy for me to go into crisis-mode – and to stay there.
When we’ve lived in a state of constant crisis (for whatever reason), we tend to get stuck there. We don’t even realize it.
I remember years ago sharing with my friend Wise Guy how I evaluated problems that came my way. Here was my method: I would ask one question, “Is this a crisis?”
Easy yes or no, right?
Wise Guy settled back in his chair. Looked at me and said, “You know, there’s a lot of things in between a crisis or not a crisis, right?”
I had to pause and think on that for a while. I hadn’t even realized my evaluation system was faulty. Crisis or not – and nothing else in between? That’s an inflexible and exhausting way to evaluate situations, wouldn’t you agree?
Until God’s whisper two nights ago, I hadn’t realized I’d fallen back into crisis-mode thinking again. I’d backed myself into a corner emotionally, where there was no way of escape.
Once I put my situation back into perspective – I was on deadline. Just on deadline – I could handle things with calmness and clarity. I’m an author. I work with deadlines all the time. I also hadn’t missed my deadline. No, I just wanted to be farther ahead with my deadline.
My screaming, “MAY DAY! MAY DAY!” inside my head was unnecessary. It was akin to throwing a fire alarm because I’d seen a pack of matches and a box of birthday candles lying next to each other in the junk drawer in my kitchen. Pure supposition on my part.
Reality is, I’ve had a few crises in recent months that have tipped me out of balance. It’s time to stop. To find center again and allow my emotions to regain equilibrium. Just because I’ve dealt with some emergencies doesn’t mean I should live in a constant state of crisis. Life is so much more than crisis or not.
Do You Operate in Crisis Mode? http://bit.ly/2H0E31L #balance #emotions
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'Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.' #quote by Thomas Merton #emotionalhealth
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