Being in business means you’ll probably have to deal with some sort of PR nightmare or crisis eventually. Especially when your company grows and gains momentum, it can seem like the problems get bigger — or at least the potential for problems gets bigger.
Crises not only have the potential to jeopardize and infiltrate your work, but they also threaten your emotional stability and relationships. It’s natural to let this stuff bother us, but learning how to deal with it and give ourselves some sense of peace of mind is important, too. But how do you handle the internal storm when your career is at risk?
Resist The Urge To Hyperfocus
While intense concentration is vital for solving everyday issues, focused thinking can also lead to something called perceptual narrowing. For example, the more time you spend hammering away at a problem, the more limited your ability to access the method of thinking required to solve it becomes. It’s a case of diminishing returns.
Diffuse thinking is a good goal. This is a creative state that often happens when you break away from your standard routine. It naturally occurs while taking a walk or during sleep, hence the phrase “sleep on it.” If you’ve ever had a genius revelation mid-workout, your brain was probably operating in diffuse mode. Keep your mind open, and you’ll keep your options open, too.
Don’t Neglect Your Personal Life
Who can focus on a conversation with a friend, a dinner out, or movie night when the world is ending? Crises often become all-consuming and lead us to isolate ourselves because we don’t want other people to see us at our worst.
Locking yourself up at home, making lists, and pacing back and forth in constant agitation are not going to help. It’s important to live as much of your life as you can.
What’s more, constant vigilance requires a continuous flow of adrenaline, which leaves you exhausted. Only by allowing yourself real down time will you have enough energy to tackle the tough stuff when you need to.
The body needs more self-care in situations like these, not less. Invest in yourself, and pay extra attention to your sleep, diet, and fitness. This self-care regimen is what’s going to save you — and prevent you from making further costly mistakes during a trying time.
Why The Fight-Or-Flight Response Doesn’t Work In A Crisis
Everyone faces crises. Our animal nature ensures that the fight-or-flight response kicks in when stress mounts. For modern-day struggles, however, that response doesn’t really work because a crisis is something that can last quite a while. We’re talking about things like endless litigation, long divorce trials, or persistent scandals.
“Almost immediately, you abandon essential habits, routines, and relationships to focus on the task at hand,” says Cat Castellanos, founder of Sidestep Strategies, which bills itself as the first inner crisis management firm in Los Angeles.
“Life will resume, we tell ourselves, ‘when things get better.’ But if we knew when the ordeal was going to end, it wouldn’t be called a crisis. You’ll never survive the external storm unless you learn to manage the internal one.”
That’s even more difficult than it sounds. Here are three ways to help you do it.
1. Return to normal afterward.
The more time your body spends in a state of stress, the more it perpetuates the fear and anxiety. Once the initial shock wears off, do what you can to calm down. Actively work to instruct your body that everything is normal.
Dropping your routine is like jumping into cold water: It shocks your system. Maintaining a sense of normalcy will tell your brain that while you may be going through a tough time, most things are functioning as usual.
2. Don’t take immediate action.
It’s natural to want to get out of a crisis as quickly as you got into it. Your instinct to trust your gut and make quick decisions probably won’t get you out of the situation, though.
Instead, slow down. Yes, it’s uncomfortable to stand in the center of a storm, but it’s more important to make the right decision than it is to rush into one that could make things worse.
Think of it as a chess game. Impulsive moves often result in a loss of power. Stay calm, observe the board, and hold your finger on the piece until you’re ready to make your move. It’s your game. Play it on your terms.
3. Don’t go it alone.
Embarrassment, fear, and shame may tell you to fight alone, but you should never operate from a place of fear. Your first step is not to hide out but to build out. Find your advocates. Create a team. Look to professionals to help you manage both the external and internal crises.
Your team may consist of attorneys, agents, PR specialists, friends, a partner, therapists, spiritual advisors, or others, but there are two requirements. First, surround yourself with people who are trustworthy and who will stand by you. Second, make sure at least one or two members of your team are objective counsels — third parties with no direct ties to you or the outcome. They will be better able to see your blind spots.
Lastly, remember the adage “This, too, shall pass.” No matter what it is, every bad situation you find yourself or your company in will eventually end. That’s why, no matter the fight, you need to live fully throughout the crisis to see your way out of it.
