Dealing with Surprises (Not So Great Surprises)

Dealing with Surprises – If you are a person who likes the calm and peaceful life or if you are the type of person who loves your routine, this post may make a difference in the way that you deal with surprises.

Dealing with Surprises

Below are some tips for effectively dealing with surprise no matter how big or small.

Start by breathing - When you are surprised, you are naturally caught off guard.  You want to get yourself back to a calm state as quickly as possible.  The simplest way is to focus on your breathing.  There may be times when a quick and decisive action is required to move forward. However, most of the time, you are better off just settling in and breathing until you can get back to a place of peace.

Quickly assess the situation and figure out what you should attack first - Usually, bad surprises are not as bad as they originally seem.  Regardless, they will never be exactly like they initially seem.  That is a good thing because you get to dictate how your situation plays out if you remain calm and in control.  Determine what is key and what is important to focus on first and go after that right away.  Simply put, you want to get a win under your belt.

Deal with one thing at a time - People think that multi-tasking will get them through more quickly.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  Focus on one item at a time and work through that item.  This will allow you complete one step and move on to the next.  However, if a lot of things need to get done at once, then you have choices –

- Communicate the order in which you will work on things.

- Get others involved to help

Communication and collaboration can solve almost any problem and can help in solving almost any problem swiftly.

Look five years out - If you look at the problem from a perspective of five years from now, you will realize that this is not necessarily a big deal.  Think about your problems from five years ago.  How many of them are still bothering you today?  My guess is that you rarely even think of those problems.

Bad surprises are a part of life.  Dealing with them effectively will separate those who control their lives from those who are controlled by their circumstances.

Make it a great day.