How To Get Through a Crisis: Here’s Your Game Plan

In the midst of a crisis, sometimes you just need one practical idea.

Photo by Naomi August on Unsplash

I’ve read a lot about the importance of having a growth mindset, having a positive mindset, persevering in general, and wishful thinking — but none of those things have ever helped me get through a crisis.

The only thing that ever helped me was developing a proactive and a defensive mindset, and tackling small issues head on before they snowballed into problems that I couldn’t escape from.

It sounds counterintuitive to have a defensive mindset, but in the midst of a true crisis, when you’re grasping at straws, when you’re already behind… sometimes it’s the best thing to do.

It’s all about strategy.

Having a positive mindset might give you a burst of energy to plow through a few minor inconveniences, but when failure is your shadow, and when you can’t seem to climb out of the hole that you’re in, being friendly and courteous to your problems won’t help anymore.

You can’t wish this stuff away; you have to fight back.

First, ask yourself if it’s really a crisis.