Crisis is good. It stirs up the spirit and awakens the moribund. Crisis offers an opportunity to ask questions.
But a crisis doesn’t just emerge out of nothing. It rarely just shows up. By definition, a crisis is a time of intense difficulty or danger or when a difficult or important decision must be made.
In other words, crises are just the tipping point of something that had been building up. A crisis is the outcome of procrastination and negligence. It occurs when we ignore, overlook or fail to take notice of the symptoms leading to the crisis..
It is very easy to ignore procrastination and laziness. The problem is that we just don’t realize the effects until it is too late.
In Habits & Time – Make Them Count In 3 Steps, I mentioned how procrastination derailed me from my goals. It caused friction in some relationships. That specific crisis helped me to deal with deeper issues within me.
It reminded me how important healthy relations are. Relationships aren’t only built on love. There is sacrifice involved too.
Crisis opened up an avenue for me to become a better leader by looking out for others. I can’t be a leader if I am unwilling to show care.
The worst case scenario is when we are in denial about the crisis. It is when you and I fail to act because it “isn’t in my docket”. We defer that resolve citing that “it’s someone else’s responsibility”.
How can we minimize the number of crises we have to deal with? It is in remembering that a crisis happens in time. It is the convergence of a continuum of three things: habit, process, and behavior.
1. Habits link the mind, body and soul. When I practice good habits, there is a balance and peace in my whole being. But when unhealthy habits check in, I activate a potential war between my mind, body and soul.. They can only co-exist with each other again when there is a truce.
“But truces are only durable when they create real justice. If a truce is unbalanced— if the peace isn’t real— then the routines often fail when they are needed most,” says Charles Duhigg in The Power Of Habit.
My most urgent routines at the moment are sleep, regular writing, meditation and prayer. These are important if I am to avert a crisis of growing my new business. These are the primary habits I have to embed in my daily living.
2. Process is the laid out procedure of how our out mind, body and soul work together. During the crisis, when do you decide to act is critical. The longer you take, he more complicated the resolution process becomes.
There is one crisis that a number of us knew we had to sort out. It was a touchy issue, and the resolution to deal with it was unanimous. However, no one wanted to take leadership of it. As soon as I stepped up to direct e process, everyone else chimed in with their ideas and support.
Agree what is required (resources), who should be involved (people) and when (time). Then take action! But action is impossible, or very difficult to take, without the third area of convergence… behavior
3. Behavior is our conditioned response to the crisis. It by our Habits and processes drive behavor. It is the way we act or conduct ourselves around the crisis. My behavior determines how effective I am in everything I do.
Behavior defines the “how” of our lives. It is the whole range of our actions and mannerism around our environment. In this case, it is how we engage with the crisis at hand.
The quality of our response – behavior – determines whether a crisis is averted or not. If the crisis does happen, then our behavior helps us to manage the outcome better. If we do not have the right response, then permanent damage is inevitable.
A company with dysfunctional habits can’t turn around simply because a leader orders it. Rather, wise executives seek out moments of crisis— or create the perception of crisis— and cultivate the sense that something must change, until everyone is finally ready to overhaul the patterns they live with each day.” ~Charles Duhigg
Q: How does a crisis affect you? Is it an opportunity to do something new? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
photo credit: Emerge via photopin (license)
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.