Astute readers will notice the title of this column is in quotation marks. Who am I quoting? I’m quoting Rahm Emanuel, former Chief of Staff for President Obama, and later the mayor of Chicago. Mr. Emanuel once said, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” While I have serious issues with Mr. Emanuel’s likely intent behind that statement, I do wish to look at such a statement from a different angle.
If you are reading this column, the chances are very high that you are a serious individual who wants to evolve and develop. You seek growth and you strive for success. You don’t just go through life as if floating down a river on a raft, Huckleberry Finn-style, leading a meandering life. You are probably a goal setter and wish to live a life of achievement. By simply embracing such expectations, you will likely have many moments throughout your life of success and accomplishment.
However, life is not a bed of roses – not even for the best of us. I am certain the late Steve Jobs encountered more than his fair share of setbacks and roadblocks. And you are no different. There are times when you will encounter what we might call a crisis. That crisis will bring with it a certain measure of chaos, which means there will be uncertainty in your life. There will be periods of angst, of disorder, of upheaval. Think of the people in the southeastern states who first dealt with Hurricane Helena, and then Hurricane Milton. And that’s just in the realm of the physical world, devastating as that is. There are other realms in your life that can be affected by financial setback, the loss of friends or family members, our own susceptibility to injury or illness, career problems, spiritual setbacks, a feeling that we lack the mental competence to function effectively in certain arenas. The list is endless.
We can learn something from the Chinese in this regard.
The Chinese word for Crisis is depicted in the image above. You may detect two distinct characters. The first one, the Chinese word Wei, suggests the word danger. The second one, the Chinese word Ji, suggests the word opportunity. This is actually quite profound to think about. A crisis does represent danger, catastrophe, a problematic and vexing challenge, a state of jeopardy. This is real. This is formidable. This element of the crisis could pull us under.
But the Chinese understand something quite profound; embedded in that perilousness, fused within that endangerment, is an opportunity. As the late insurance tycoon W. Clement Stone put it, “With every adversity there is the seed of equal or greater benefit for those who have a positive mental attitude.” Or as I would frame it: “Every crisis contains hidden elements that can lead to a better outcome if one takes the time to seek out those hidden elements and capitalize on them.”
Pay attention to this recommendation: When a crisis arises, face up to it. Look closely and realistically at the “dark clouds of trouble” that hang over you. Face up to the realities and depth of the danger. Don’t white-wash any of it. Then, start to ask yourself, “How can I mitigate the impact of this predicament?” Do all you can to nullify the painful elements of the situation. But that is merely playing defense.
You also have to play offense.
Ask yourself, “What would have to happen to bend the odds in my favor? How might I utilize this crisis to come out on top? How can it make me stronger or put me in a more advantageous situation?” By utilizing some strategic ju-jitsu, you may well discover a path that wasn’t originally apparent to you. If you go down that path, you may beat the odds and arise from the ashes stronger and with more positive momentum than was the case before the crisis reared its ugly head.
But you’ll never see that path if you aren’t actively looking for it.
So while I don’t care for Rahm Emanuel’s intent behind his semi-famous utterance, I do see that such an utterance can be used in productive and even noble ways. Never let a crisis derail you. Never let a crisis beat you. Never let a crisis go to waste.
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