Lessons from the Situation Room

I remember being agitated one day at work, when something came up late on, that I knew inevitably meant extra time at the office after closing hours. To add to that, storm clouds began to gather outside my window. By the time I was done, in addition to my exasperation at running late and apprehension of being drenched by the impending downpour I was upset at knowing I hadn’t done my best piece of work. At some point while I was working, I felt some movement in my bladder but I ignored it till I was done, by which time it had graduated to a burning compulsion and as soon as I shut down my Laptop I took off for the bathroom. I knew the door was bad and could be jammed by the wind but in my haste I didn’t secure it on my way in. A loud bang a few seconds after I got in told me it was shut and on my way out it refused to open! Bear in mind that it was way past closing time so the Office was almost empty and the wind was howling, so it was unlikely anyone would hear me calling for help (that, and of course the fact I was too embarrassed to actually shout for help from the toilet!). I was stuck!

As the reality of my predicament hit me I began to panic. What was I to do? Images of me stuck there all night – germs and all – thinking of an explanation for the wife, flashed across my mind. Needless to say it did nothing for my nerves; I started to tug and twist the door handle frantically. And then a thought crossed my mind out of the blues: you can by panic achieve nothing. It must have been the voice of God. No sooner had I let go of the poor door knob and relaxed somewhat than I realized I had my phone in my pocket – help was not so far away after-all, as my colleague lives less than 10 minutes away from the Office. Now I actually managed a smile. As I was dialing my colleague’s number, I absently pulled at the door again and to my surprise it came open! And right there, good people, was a lesson of a lifetime: you can by panic achieve nothing.

Now you may not be facing a night in the restroom but if you’re tackling a complication which has the potential to cause you alarm or you have a decision to make/take, whose consequences can be dire if you make the wrong one, then you are in The Situation Room and my message to you, the entire point of telling this tale is this: you can by panic achieve nothing.

Fear is a killer; once you’re in panic mode your better judgment, sense of reason and clarity of thought basically shut down, denying you your best shot at making the most of your strengths. It is quite possible that what you’re faced with simply cannot be escaped or even mitigated. Still, panic achieves nothing and rather makes you suffer more! A coward they say dies a thousand deaths before he actually dies.

To quote Publilius Syrus, a writer in the 1st century BC, the fear of death is more to be dreaded than death itself. If you can stop tricky situations from occurring in your life then by all means do, but if something is already upon you then do yourself a world of good by cooling down and staying as calm as is humanly possible under the circumstances and always hear the eternal words in your subconscious, you can by panic achieve nothing. . .