Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is The Way, one of my favorite books, is the perfect read for anyone going through a crisis.
When something horrible happens, our nervous systems can really impede our ability to make good decisions. You must make clear-eyed decisions about how to respond to and communicate through a crisis. Here’s Ryan on panic:
- “Does getting upset provide you with more options? Subconsciously, we should constantly be asking ourselves this question: Do I need to freak out about this?”
- “Panic has to be trained out. And it does not go easily. Just say: No thank you, I can’t afford to panic.”
Panic certainly does NOT help when you’re talking to a reporter about your crisis. Graceful calm, on the other hand, gives you lots of options. The best way to achieve calm is to use your body to calm your body down. Breathing exercises, meditation, exercise. These are the ways to calm those crazy hormones so you can take your mind back.
When you or your company have gone through a crisis, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to forgive yourselves. If you are forthright about the facts, if you apologize, if you demonstrate change, your audiences will forgive you. People love people who change. People love people who learn. People love people who are humble.
How do you forgive yourself and find the courage to move on? Here’s what Ryan says: “Doing new things invariably means obstacles. A new path is, by definition, uncleared. . . In other words: It’s supposed to be hard. Your first attempts aren’t going to work.”
Every mountain climber stumbles.
And speaking of mountains, here’s my favorite Ryan Holiday quote ever: “Behind mountains there are more mountains. Elysium is a myth. One does not overcome an obstacle to enter the land of no obstacles. On the contrary, the more you accomplish, the more things will stand in your way. There are always more obstacles, bigger challenges. You’re always fighting uphill. Get used to it and train accordingly.”
True innovation is a mountain to climb. Mistakes will be made. Get up and keep climbing!
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