How to keep calm in a crisis

Learning to cope in a crisis or in a stressful situation by shifting your mindset could make all the difference.

How can you build self confidence and reduce your anxiety read on to find out. 
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How to keep calm in a crisis

Don't be too hard on yourself

​​Have you ever considered the role emotions play (feelings of disappointment, sadness, or regret) in the aftermath of a catastrophe? The revelation your own mind set is the reason you failed to overcome a crisis is a bitter pill to swallow.
 
Managing your emotions and the emotions of others is particularly helpful, as those who succumb to environmental stressors are often the first casualties of a crisis. 
 
A perceived negative belief can generate stress and interfere with your ability to deal with the here-and-now issues. If you are too hard on yourself, without even realising it, you’ve let self-doubt destroy any chance you had of saving the day.

​​A crisis of confidence means you graciously sacrifice your own interests only to dwell on your past failures afterwards, leading to feelings of hopelessness. You may even accept situations you are unhappy with just to avoid confrontation.

Build your self confidence
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​Even if your heart is racing inside, a clam self-confident demeanour, provides the illusion of  sureness and self-worth. Being mindful of when and why you start to lose your confidence will help you to recognise the triggers, so you can do something about it. If you can catch negative thoughts as they occur, you can potentially reframe them into more positive terms.
 
If you start to doubt yourself, imagine all the things that could go wrong or the ways you might mess up, stop and argue the opposite.
 
By taking responsibility for your own performance and being open to new ideas you can change your behaviour first, leading to feelings of self-confidence later.
 
Instead of focusing on the negative, think about all the reasons you might succeed.

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What about anxiety? 
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It’s perfectly normal to feel anxious about things you cannot control.The more you avoid the issue, the more anxiety provoking the issue becomes. Ultimately the best way to reduce your anxiety is to learn to overcome the issue.

​Anxiety makes us want to run away from the cause, concede quickly or backdown, leading to further anxiety afterwards.

Coping mechanisms 
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​Trusting in your own abilities as previously discussed, means you'll have a more positive attitude towards an uncertain future.
 
A confident entrepreneur is self-aware (strengths and weaknesses) and knows what they want to achieve. 
 
Equally, you need to recognise that you can’t do everything, if you always try to do everything perfectly. Those who strive for perfection will feel the most anxiety when they fail to achieve the unachievable, time and time again.

Often the best lessons learnt are those learnt as a result of failure.

About the Author
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Naomi Clews is a female entrepreneur and procurement practitioner with over 25 years business insight and knowledge.  Find more insights for the Millennial Manager at www.millennialprocurement.com