I was in a business office today and took a break from the meeting to find a restroom. Just as I was opening the door to the men’s room, I heard the receptionist say loudly and somewhat sarcastically, “good luck.” I stopped with the door halfway open. What was going on in the men’s room? Was it flooded? Was there a stray grizzly bear hanging out inside? I stepped back out and looked over at the reception area and saw that she was speaking with another employee, and the “good luck” was not meant for me. Whew!
But it got me thinking. Her saying that was enough for me to stop my action and think. I needed to get more information and make sure that I was not about to step into a problem. But a sarcastic “good luck” is not the same as shouting “look out!”, so should I have even given it another thought? As I was in an office environment and was fairly confident that this organization would not have a waiting disaster in their men’s room, it was more curiosity than anything that got me to pause. But in a disaster, determining what requires your attention and what might throw you off guard, limiting or preventing you from taking immediate and thoughtful action, is critical.
Start examining those situations where you stop in your tracks and evaluate whether that action was warranted based on the situation. Make appropriate changes in your behavior if you find you are either overreacting or underreacting. Practice in small non-disaster situations will prepare you for decisive and appropriate response in a true crisis.