COPING WITH DISASTER:Reaction to tragedies influences outcome
Hurricane Katrina is a reminder that you never know when or where tragedy is going to strike. As the fourth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, we are also reminded we do not choose tragedy — it chooses us — randomly and suddenly.
Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. You may be trying to weather the storms in your own personal life right now, whether it is the loss of a job, a divorce, the loss of a loved one, or a terminal illness.
When tragedy strikes, our first reaction is shock. We may have had some forewarning, but it’s never enough.
Your first reaction to the tragedy could mean life or death for you or someone you love. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to follow these steps for surviving any tragedy.
Choose to Believe
It is essential you stop and get your bearings. Assess where you are and what resources you have around you. Yes, cancer and hurricanes are still terminal, but plenty of people survive them. Just a few days after Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer, he held a press conference in which he boldly announced, “I want you all to know that I intend to beat this disease, and further I intend to ride again as a professional cyclist.” That was back in 1996, when most people were predicting his early demise.
You can do the same thing. Acknowledge your opponent for what it is and then calmly, but firmly announce to the world that you will beat this thing.
Double Check the Facts
When an acorn fell on her head, “Henny Penny” thought the sky was falling. This belief became a self-fulfilling prophecy which led to tragic results or her and her friends. This story is a reminder we need to double check the facts to make sure our perception is consistent with reality. Remember, the biggest obstacle that is standing in your way is not the obstacle, it is what you believe about the obstacle.
What you believe about the obstacle has more of an impact on how you deal with the situation than the obstacle itself.
Go to Those Who Are Already Outside the Box
In an emergency, you don’t have time to brainstorm with a focus group to come up with thousands of creative ideas and on how to deal with the situation. You must think and act quickly and decisively. The quickest way to adjust your thinking is to go to those who are already outside the box, and perhaps don’t even know the box exists. Who are these people?
If you go exclusively to those who share your belief system and think like you do, you will not learn anything new. Conventional wisdom must be tossed out the window when tragedy strikes. But sometimes the only way to “think outside the box” is to listen to those who are already outside the box. When tragedy strikes, don’t ignore those quiet whispers from unconventional sources.
Focus a Purpose Bigger Than Yourself
When tragedy strikes, our instincts kick in and our first thoughts and actions are for self-preservation. But, there are a few rare souls out there, who override these instincts by making a conscious, deliberate choice to focus on a purpose bigger than themselves. We call them heroes.
Survivors and heroes see things the rest of us don’t see. There were many heroes on 9/11 when two airplanes struck the World Trade Center. There will no doubt many be heroes who come to the aid of the hurricane victims.
When Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer, one of the first things he did was start the Lance Armstrong Foundation to raise money for cancer research. When we focus on a purpose bigger than ourselves, somehow our own suffering seems less tragic.
When we help other people weather their strorms, something unexplainable happens in the cosmos. Electricity starts to flow, we feel more energized, brain cells get more creative, people unite, hearts swell — and sometimes, just every now and then, miracles happen.
Daniel R. Castro is the author of “Critical Choices That Change Lives, How Heroes Turn Tragedy Into Triumph.”