A Crisis That Does Not Exist. In A Crisis, You Need To Think And Act In A New Way - Blogs, Self-development, Society

“In every crisis, one must see potential for growth,” the optimists assure. Undoubtedly, but first of all - the potential for the growth of problems that will have to be addressed. If problems are not resolved in time, they will become even more “unsolvable”. The crisis is given to us in order to appreciate the past well-being and understand how we will achieve our goals in the future.

Adapting creatively

The crisis manifests itself as a change, new rules of the game emerge. They need to be understood and adapted. If this does not happen, then there can be no adequate reaction to the changed conditions. Old recipes, old approaches no longer work, and it is important to understand in time and act on the basis of this new understanding.

Life in general is a chain of crises, and a successful life is a chain of controlled crises. By overcoming problems, we develop … or degrade if we are not ready for creative adaptation *. We either notice a change in the situation and react - we resolve conflicts, change circumstances, or we do not notice and degrade - we become a toy in the wrong hands.

Is it possible to run away from the crisis? Yes, you can, but this decision will not suit you. Perhaps only the dead do not survive crises.

"The greatest danger in times of instability is not instability itself, but acting in accordance with the logic of yesterday."

Peter Drucker

From humility to analysis and action

Crises are different. I propose to consider one of the types - personal financial trouble against the backdrop of the economic crisis. Its distinguishing feature is that the external events that triggered it are outside the control zone: we are not in a position to influence the dollar rate and oil prices. The only thing we can change is our reaction and the way we act.

A crisis is something that is happening here and now and needs to be overcome. If a person "hangs" on the search for reasons that often do not depend on him, he is overwhelmed by an emotional wave and it becomes much more difficult to solve problems. This does not mean that you should ignore your emotional reactions. It makes sense to express them, "burn out" and move on. If you pretend that the crisis is nothing to you and that it does not cause any negative emotions in you, then only drive the problems into the subconscious, from where they will successfully lead you.

Instead, it makes sense to switch to finding a solution: to understand that it doesn't matter who is to blame, what matters is what to do. First, you need to solve the problem and only then look for the causes of its occurrence and those to blame. However, this is not always easy to do. But we can realize that we are in a crisis, come to terms with the fact that it has come, and begin to actively get out of it. Without knowing where you are, you cannot begin to move where you want.

The pill of realism

A crisis is a disease of the “spiritually rich” who have become mentally ill. Unfortunately, spirit uplifting visualization and happiness techniques like those shown in The Secret don't work. A crisis first of all occurs in the minds, and not at the stock exchange and in the change in the dollar exchange rate. This is simply a reflection of the general economic illusions of both the individual and society as a whole. Only realism and honesty will help to get out of the crisis, not positivism and mysticism.

How to tame the storm

What does it mean to realize? To be aware means to understand what thoughts you have, what feelings you have about what is happening and how it responds in your body. Dis-identification with the situation will allow you to step back, see it from the outside, and turn an overwhelming emotional storm into a little excitement.

If you do not admit that you are in a crisis, indulge yourself with the illusions that everything is fine with you, ignore the obvious, then you push the crisis into the subconscious, from where it guides you. Awareness of the problem is the first stage in solving it. At this stage, it is important to realize the economic consequences: immediate and distant, consequences for personal life, for relationships with people.

Setting coordinates …

You can get out of the dead end only by recognizing that you are in it. It is necessary to accurately understand the initial coordinates. If you do not know where you are now, you will not be able to come where you want. If you cannot determine your exact location on the map, it is difficult to clarify the further course.

Not accepting the true situation, endlessly looking for the guilty and the "scapegoats", we only complicate it. Vulnerability to crisis is the result of being illusory, following old patterns. A crisis brings pain and suffering, but if you don't endure this pain, but hide from it, then there will be no solution to the problem.

It is curious that many of those who are constantly “positive”, by definition, cannot do this. Over-optimists tend to shrug off problems until the problem grows into an unsolvable problem. They do not want to see reality and behave like little children who hide under the covers from problems and believe that problems will disappear from this. It is difficult for mystics to set the coordinates correctly. In a crisis, they rely on supernatural salvation, which prevents them from overcoming difficulties themselves. In their picture of the world there will always be a higher power that will do it for them. So why bother?

Equilibrium formula

We can think of a crisis as a time to say goodbye to old beliefs, a time of active resignation. The concept of "active humility" is defined by the formula: to be strong where you need to, and weak where you can. That is, to be active where activity will bring the maximum benefit, and to save energy, to include healthy indifference in those situations where little depends on you.

… and paddle

The time for change can be not only an opportunity for personal growth, but also an impetus for personal downfall. And this happens quite often. At this time, beliefs change, the usual model of the world fails.

Let's say you thought that your salary would always remain at the level of three thousand dollars and based your life plans on this basis. And suddenly, within a year and a half, this amount became equivalent to one and a half thousand, and your requests and ideas remained for the usual three thousand. What happens if you persist in this picture of the world? Yes, you just run the risk of earning a neurosis - like the difference between the real state of affairs and your ideas about them! Unfortunately, we get used to the bad much more slowly than to the good, and we realize the correctness of the saying: "It's not so good with money as bad without it."

Nothing is more useful during a crisis than to come down from heaven to earth and understand that high incomes were not because you are so brilliant and have always worked hard. Rather, it was due to external conditions, with the economic tide. Yes, you rowed at the same time, but the main merit is not in your efforts, but in the tide. Try to paddle at low tide and then you will understand your true value!

Resource for growth

You can grow personally against the backdrop of the financial crisis by devaluing the value of money for yourself. It is worth asking yourself questions:

• What importance did we attach to money, success before?
• How dependent were we on fame, how arrogant?
• Did you assess your strength soberly?
• Isn't the meaning of money hypertrophied for us?

On the other hand, the cruel truth is that some have personality traits below the poverty line. They believe that money is sinful, it spoils people, and big money can only be earned by dishonest labor. The truth, as always, is in the middle - not so good with money as bad without it.

Six steps to the goal

If emotions are overwhelming, find someone who can provide you with crisis support, who will not criticize and just listen. These people are often psychotherapists. The period of the acute phase of the crisis must be lived through. The only way to help at this stage is simply to be there, to sympathize. But after passing the acute phase, it's time to act.

At the next stage, it is important to develop a way out of the crisis. A psychotherapist or consultant can also help with this. Remember, old, tried and tested methods and old social circle will not help to overcome the crisis. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to change your circle of interests, your usual way of life. The crisis forces us to revise values and new choices, as a result of which we either leave the old values and views that limit beliefs, or slightly change them, or gradually develop new approaches, a system of values that are more suited to life in new conditions.

Stages of overcoming the crisis:

• Acceptance of the situation, its emotional experience.
• Determining your point of being in a crisis.
• Sober analysis.
• Making decisions.
• Execution of these decisions.
• Correcting them as they are embodied.

As you move from one stage to the next, stick to the concept of creative adaptation. And do not forget - to achieve a new result, you need to start thinking and acting in a new way. If life is a chain of crises, then let this chain be golden!

* - Creative adaptation - the ability of a person in crisis periods of life to use the resulting uncertainty as a resource for his own change.