A calm perspective

'DON'T PANIC!' Two words that seem to have the exact opposite effect of what it intends to achieve. For some, it conjures a vision of the worst case scenario, and for others, the number 42 and Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I find 'Don't panic', interesting from a psychological and evolutionary viewpoint. I recently discovered the 'Stay Calm perspective' and it was such a paradigm shift. 'Don't panic' and 'Stay calm', essentially have the same intended message ie 'Chill, breathe, relax', but deliver different outcomes through perception and context. Saying "Don't", stokes the rebel in us and makes us driven to want it more, and "Panic" leaves us in a state of panic. Alternatively, 'Stay', reassures us and makes us feel secure. While 'Calm', leaves us in a state of peace. Same same but different.

Upon further thought I realised the don't panic and stay calm idea translates into our personal lives and human evolution.

As we grow and become young adults, we essentially fumble about in a 'DON'T PANIC' state. Must get educated, must get a job, must find love, must buy a home, why am I not vegan? what's my purpose? PANIC, PANIC, PANIC! and all this before the next Twilight saga is released.

Then we (hopefully) hit the wise years, and enter the 'Stay Calm' part of our lives, or the geriatric years some say. We realise the rat race, vegans and the twilight saga was all part of discovering the purpose, a needed pressure to understand how to enjoy life and make an impact while we have time on Earth.

From this individual life timeline, we see how humanity as a timeline actually shares many similarities. We as a specie are very young on Earth, much like the young adult phase. Rushing through evolutions, civilizations and creating all sorts of pressures. Global warming, societal disparities, political circuses, war, the internet... PANIC, PANIC, PANIC!

Happily and hopefully, this does mean that at some point in our collective human future, maybe by the 42nd century, we will enter a 'Stay Calm' period. We will become a wiser version of ourselves, chill out and look back on our younger years and say, I can't believe they spent all that time getting upset over the Ed and Belle's life choices. Everyone deserves to live in happiness, even if it's with a vampire.

I'll leave you with this bonus video and my final thoughts. Panic, I believe is a needed evolutionary mechanism to grow and pay attention. It's easy and very normal to say 'Don't panic', but it's also easy to say 'Stay calm'. That's where the magic of evolution happens, the growth part. So next time you feel panic setting in or see another person entering the panic zone, remind them or yourself, to take the time to breathe and repeat the words, 'Stay calm... all will be fine.'