For many people, the focus is on physical preparedness. It is logical to think the first step is to stock up on all sorts of food and water for emergencies. But developing the mental fortitude to make sound decisions under pressure is often overlooked. In this guide on how to make better decisions in a crisis, you will learn how.
Our founder, Jason Hitchcock, went through a devastating tornado that killed 19 of his neighbors. While everyone is ready to help with the physical clean-up, after everyone leaves, the mental scars take much longer to heal.
Science is beginning to catch up with this, too. Studies are starting to recommend more extensive mental preparedness training for first responders and healthcare professionals as the rates of depression and anxiety skyrocket in these professions after disasters. Cambridge is trying to figure out what makes some people more resilient than others in a disaster, and scientists are rushing to develop disaster plans that include mental health.
However, many of these studies and public health recommendations are focused on what happens after a disaster. What happens when you’re in the thick of it and need to make split-second, life-or-death decisions? The answer is simple: Stoicism.
Stoicism, with its emphasis on reason, self-control, and resilience, provides a powerful tool for those seeking to enhance their ability to think clearly and act decisively when the stakes are highest. No matter if the crisis is big or small, developing mental fortitude now is vital.
We’ll help you do just that.
The Perils of Panic in a Crisis
I’ve seen firsthand how panic can turn a challenging situation into a downright disaster. When fear grips you, it’s like putting on a pair of fogged-up glasses. Suddenly, the world becomes blurry, and your ability to think clearly is compromised. Rational thought is replaced by instinctual reactions, often leading to impulsive decisions that can have severe consequences.
There is one reason first aid training involves doing the same life-saving actions over and over again. It’s because we tend to revert to our first instinct when disaster strikes. Those actions need to be our first instincts.
Panic is a thief of reason, and our minds to make things seem worse than they really are. It steals our ability to analyze options, weigh risks, and develop effective strategies. When we’re consumed by fear, our focus narrows, and we become tunnel-visioned, missing crucial details that could be essential to finding a solution.
We’ve all seen this concept play out in everyday life. Just look at road rage. A simple misunderstanding can trigger a whole mess of honking, yelling, and swerving. It makes everyone less safe and can even be deadly. Still, it happens all the time.
On a larger scale, we’ve witnessed the devastating effects of mass panic during natural disasters. People trample each other in the rush to escape, hoarding supplies, and creating a hostile environment. Sometimes, rescuers are most at risk by those they’re trying to rescue!
Don’t think of yourself as immune to this panic, either. You aren’t. Special Forces in the military go through months of mental training in the case of capture, and even they aren’t immune to it. The best we can do is train our minds to make the best decision when the rational part gets turned off.
How to Make Better Decisions in a Crisis – Building Your Stoic Arsenal
This is where Stoicism comes in. The core of Stoicism is about making rational decisions despite (and sometimes because) of our emotions. It isn’t about not panicking (that is often impossible). It’s about making the right decisions despite panicking.
This ability isn’t just something you can turn off and on, though. You have to train it. How do you do that? By applying just three basic principles to your life now. You want to make these habits your first instinct so that they just happen in an emergency:
1. Focus on What You Can Control
This is the cornerstone of Stoicism. Instead of worrying about things outside your influence, concentrate on what you can change: your actions, your attitude, and your response to events.
Simply put, you need to “control the controllable.” That’s your only job.
When a crisis hits, it’s easy to get wrapped up in all the stuff you can’t control—the weather, the news, the government, other people’s actions—it’s a long list. But focusing on that stuff won’t get you anywhere.
Instead, zero in on what you can do. Need a plan? Make one. Scared? Acknowledge it, then take a deep breath. This isn’t about ignoring your feelings; it’s about not letting them run the show.
2. Anti-Fragility
Life is going to throw curveballs. Stoicism teaches you to expect them. There is a reason Marcus Aurelius gave himself this pep talk before he got out of bed each morning: “Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offender’s ignorance of what is good or evil.”
Simply put, you will meet stupid people, and that’s okay.
The same applies to disasters. Yes, stupid things will happen, but that’s okay! The great thing about being human is that we aren’t just resilient; we’re anti-fragile. When bad things happen, we don’t only overcome them; we can also use them to improve ourselves.
If dealing with stupid people helps us learn patience and improve our communication skills, imagine what we gain from a disaster.
The more you practice bouncing back, the tougher you’ll get.
3. Flip the Script
Okay, so you’ve quit focusing on the stuff you can’t control and accepted that stuff just happens. Now, let’s take it a step forward: turning the disasters into a good thing.
If we gain mental strength from dealing with disasters, then shouldn’t we look forward to them? Or, at the very least, turn them into a neutral occurrence. After all, the only person who can really define a disaster is us.
Epictetus once said, “It isn’t the things themselves that disturb people, but the judgments that they form about them.” A disaster is only horrible because of our perception. An event in itself cannot be good or bad.
Epictetus also recommended that we “don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will – then your life will flow well.” We need to manage our expectations. If we’ve already accepted that uncontrollable interruptions to our lives exist, then should we really be so surprised with they show up?
Of course, all of this is easier said than done. How do you make it your first instinct to focus on what you can control, accept that hard things happen, and stop applying negative labels to events?
Action Steps to Practice Now
Let’s get practical. How do we develop the three principles we just discussed? Well, like most things in life, it’s going to take some work:
1. Mindfulness
Mindfulness may feel like a word coined as a scam. However, there is significant scientific proof behind the practice. Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to now, not worrying about the future. That goes hand-in-hand with our first principle.
Mindfulness does take a little bit of work, though. For the best result, you need to practice once daily, even for only five minutes. There are many books on the subject, but I’ve found that apps work better. Everyone talks about HeadSpace and Breethe, but I’ve found Balance to be the best option.
Basically, as our founder says in his Notes from a Stoic newsletters, we need to listen to what we are thinking and pay attention to what those thoughts are saying.
2. Journaling
The Stoics journaled extensively, which is why we have so many of their journals and letters today! Journaling isn’t just about getting your thoughts down on paper, though that is a benefit. Writing actually teaches your brain how to think.
So, if you want your first instinct to be accepting your situation and seeing the positives, you need to practice that through journaling. When something bad happens in your life, even something very small, journal about it and apply the principles we just talked about.
Was that sideways comment by your coworker really about you, or are you applying labels to a situation that doesn’t apply? Failed to land a promotion? How can you reframe that to be something positive? Is your child sick on the same day you had a big deadline? How can you make the best use of this challenge?
This process allows you to consciously practice the ways you want your brain to think. Eventually, this way of thinking will become your first instinct.
3. Surround Yourself with Stoics
Who you surround yourself with has an implication on your habits. If you want the Stoic principles to be your habits, you must surround yourself with them! Of course, most people today can’t just go and find Stoic friends. Luckily, books give us access to many of the ancient Stoics from the past.
Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus all have writing that is still available today. There are also tons of modern Stoic books, too.
The more you read about Stoicism, the better Stoic concepts will get imprinted on your mind.
4. Teach Others
It’s no secret that the best way to learn is to teach. Even Seneca said, “While we teach, we learn.” Teaching forces us to organize our thoughts and can reveal where our knowledge is lacking. Plus, teaching someone else also gives you a conversation partner, which pushes your ability to learn even further.
Luckily, Stoic principles are pretty easy to teach, even to children. If a thought pops out to you, discuss it with your spouse. Join an online group to discuss what you’re learning. Bring it up at the dinner table. Teaching doesn’t have to be formal.
Teach your children the principles we discussed above so that they can better thrive in stressful situations. Given that anxiety and depression are spiking in children, many could benefit from the same principles and practices we’ve covered in this guide.
Forge Your Inner Fortress
So, there you have it: three basic principles you should cultivate to improve your decision-making skills in a crisis:
- Focus on what you can control
- Accept that disasters happen
- See challenges through the lens of growth
Of course, developing these three principles to the point that they become second nature is easier said than done. Therefore, I’m going to leave you with one thing you should do today: start a Stoic journal. It’s your personal laboratory for testing Stoic principles.
There are tons of apps available for journaling these days. You don’t even need a physical journal.
We’ve covered other Stoic principles for you to explore, too. Remember, the more you read and surround yourself with Stoicism, the easier it’ll be for you to remember them in an emergency.
Now that you are prepared to make good decisions, read our Preparedness Checklist for all the other aspects of emergency preparedness that are important.
