Living in Crisis Mode

Most of us have a natural inclination to be crisis-minded rather than proactive. We get caught up doing the things that are urgent, but not important, instead of doing what is important, but not urgent.

With constant email alerts, text dings, and social media updates, it’s easy for the urgent but unimportant to feel both urgent and important. Even a phone call from a friend or a last minute meeting can sneak in there and gain undeserved temporary priority. After all, Aunt Sally could be calling about something REALLY critical to the future of the universe … or she might just want to talk about her cats.

Important-but-not-urgent things are necessary, but can be put off until another day. The problem is, “another day” can be delayed indefinitely. Putting aside time to plan out a presentation for work doesn’t have to happen this instant, but we may let too many instances like this go by and they then become a crisis, urgent and important, and we are then driven into a reactive, even panic state.

Some of the most important things in life are rarely urgent but always vital: getting an education (informally or formally), self-development, investing in relationships, creating healthy habits, planning financially, etc. Learning to ignore trivial matters demanding our immediate attention frees up our time and energy to spend on the more important things in life before they become emergencies. Proactivity prevents crises.

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