In my brief time here on this earth, I have learned that most people panic. They lose control of their minds and bodies. They make poor decisions based on limited logic and high emotion. The end result is usually disastrous.

Great leaders and heroes through history are generally known to be calm, cool and collected under pressure. Their ability to size up a situation, regardless of its circumstances, and then make a logical decision is very powerful and practical.

Sometimes these calm decisions won’t always be right, but in most cases they are far better than panicking and making the situation worse.

Hostile Situations

If you are stranded in water, lost in the woods, faced with a predator or any other hostile opponent; the best thing you can do is remain calm and look for the next best move to make.

Flailing in the water, desperately trying to stay afloat, will drain your energy. If you panic in the woods and run in the wrong direction, you could become further lost. Predators have evolved to target the weak, they can smell fear and will always pursue the insecure, isolated or injured.

The first step when faced with a stressful situation is to remove your emotions and irrational fear. If the odds seem insurmountable, which they rarely are, then you must logically calculate your best move for survival.

Calmly, yet without hesitation, observe then analyze the situation. Next, gather key information that will allow you to most effectively react and take control.

Fight or Flight

When we let our emotions run rampant, our hearts and nerves go wild. Our adrenalin starts to rush. Our bodies almost become uncontrollable. This is our instinctual fight or flight defense mechanism kicking in.

Adrenalin allows us to perform at super human levels. Our pain threshold sky rockets, we are at our strongest, and our normal risk aversion is temporarily gone. This response can be a great tool to escape stressful situations.

However,  overtime, this response can be very unhealthy. An adrenalin response is followed by spike of cortisol in our blood. This hormone is damaging; it can lower your immune system, damage the circulatory system and, among other things, cause ulcers.

After calmly assessing the initial situation, we can control our reaction. If we see a logical plan and the steps we must take to complete it; our flight or fight instinct will remain at bay. The key is recognizing your emotions, then getting a grip on them.

Taking a deep breath and quieting the mind will help you stay calm and centered.

Follow Through

Do you know anyone that remains graceful under pressure? How do they handle stressful situations? Most people are not born this way. Fortunately this trait can be acquired through effort.

The ability to remain cool is generally a result of confidence. Confidence is not achieved until experience has been earned through trail, error and conquered failure.

Repeating the process of calmly gathering information, analyzing it, then making the most appropriate maneuver can be repeated until the hostile situation has been handled.

With enough practice, this skill will become second nature. You can, and will, become the person people will look to in a time of stress.

Are you the pack leader?

I’ve noticed, in times of stress, people will instinctively look to the Alpha of the group to see his response. If people turn to you for advice or help, take it as a compliment rather than a nuisance.

Being the Alpha, or the leader, is a position of power and influence. These types of people  get the job done and subsequently get what they want. Losing your cool is a sure fire way to relinquish your power.

Every situation has an absolute best move to make. It is your duty to find it and do it! It could be the difference between success or failure, life or death.

Generally, poor decisions and failure occur  because of two controllable variables:

1. Over analysis
2. Emotional complication

Over Analysis

We often slow or halt our learning process by over analysis. In other words, we do not allow our creative  side to grow through abstract trial and error. The time spent researching and analyzing different technical aspects of the goal take away from the time that should be dedicated to practice…

The actual attempt and practice of a skill towards an objective has the most profound effect on your ability. Unfortunately, the fear of failure motivates many people to defer practice. The term used to describe this common affliction is Analysis Paralysis. It can take hold in any facet of life; work, play, or love.

Conversely, a true master of any skill does not think of how we will perform an action. It just comes naturally. All analysis is subconscious, almost as an instinct. This idea is called Flow.

Flow is synonymous with ‘being in the zone.’ You are fully immersed in the task at hand, successfully completing each goal smoothly.  There is total peace of mind, the opposite of panic.

Emotional Complication

Almost all decisions people make have a strong emotional base to them. The best salesmen know this, and have developed skills that build rapport and positive feelings.

The ability to remove your emotions while analyzing a situation is an important concept in personal development. You have to set your ego aside and truly see the environment for what it is. Recognizing the motivation behind your  own and others ego’s is very helpful in directing outcomes.

An action based purely on initial emotions is generally not the wisest. Often times a situation can be viewed in different lights. The mentality behind ‘is the glass is half full or half empty?’ idea.

Actively applying a positive frame on an experience also contributes to favorable outcomes. It puts you on a wavelength of success, pushing you towards your end goals,  keeping you motivated.

The caveat to this is when people shift blame or responsibility to maintain positively feelings. If the fault lies on you, recognize it, then analyze the steps to correct it next time.

Becoming Better

When you balance these two variables correctly in your quest for personal development, optimal achievement can occur. This is the idea behind the learning curve.

Initially you must build a working technical knowledge base to make an attempt (science). After initial analysis and learning, trials can occur. This performance of the skill provides the opportunity to apply creativity and experimentation (art). Learning from analysis and experimentation is a very efficient method on your path to proficiency (personal growth).

Ultimately, the achievement of any goal is the commitment to get it done. The commitment to continued action and subsequent improvement is the basis for achieving your dreams.

You must approach it two fold… as a scientist and an artist.

Are you doing what is necessary to make your personal development dreams come true?

The ability to be fully aware of your surroundings and what is happening in your mind is very important to your well being. It promotes relaxation, mental focus and increases your ability to connect with others.

It has been found that the ability to delay gratification, as opposed to succumbing to instant gratification, directly correlates with success, intelligence and general health.

Marshmallow Experiments

In an experiment, children were offered one marshmallow, but if they could wait for a certain time period before eating it, they would be granted two.

The children who immediately ate the marshmallow, and the others who delayed gratification, were tracked as they grew up. The remarkable results show a very strong, direct correlation with higher test scores, good behavior and overall success in the children who delayed gratification in order to receive two marshmallows.

Continuing this idea of  time orientation, here is a video that explains how to leverage it for an all around better life.

Application

The idea is to cherish the positive memories, learn from your failures, enjoy the pleasures of the present moment, and make decisions based on your goals for the future.

Appreciate your roots. Learn from the past. Enjoy the moment. Walk the path to your dreams.