Calm breeds Calm....

In today's world it is easy to feel like we are out of control. We have been hearing for three+ weeks that we are flattening the curve, but that we will never go back the normal we were in just two months ago. The some governments are telling many of us to stay home, and others are starting to open the economy back up. Private business leaders are struggling to understand "new normal" will bring. We are staying confined with the same people every day, with the same routine. When we start to lose control, it is easy to grasp onto whatever it is we think we can control and own it.

The phrase "Panic breeds Panic and Calm Breeds Calm" is one that I recall distinctly from my time in the military and one that fits perfectly within our currently pandemic. When we start to panic, your body enters a state of hyperarousal and your body goes into high alert. Your fight or flight response takes over and suddenly every dip is a the size of a canyon. When you see a canyon, others will see that same canyon and suddenly you are each have a shovel and digging deeper. In a phrase, "Panic breeds Panic."

Remaining calm in chaos is a challenge and takes practice. Box breathing is a common skill used to help take a second( 16 seconds to be exact), slow your heart rate, take a tactical look at a situation. Simply being calm without acknowledging the hyperarousal of others could make them feel as though you don't understand the gravity of the situation. Take a deep breath, acknowledge the problem, the desire to fight back quickly, but also in a deliberate manner. When you slow the process down for just 16 seconds, you allow for better comprehension of the problem and break the panic cycle. In a phrase, "Calm breeds Calm."

When you are on a conference call this week and panic starts to set in, take that 16 seconds to breathe, and be the calm voice to the panic of others. You'll find it is the exact thing people want to hear...