“Professor Chan... um Eric… there’s been an accident. My homework didn’t make it”.
As the first drop fought to leave my eye, I realized… I am in a crisis! I gave myself a mental smack, got a hold of myself and remembered that I saved a work in progress on my work computer before I left Friday night! I'd have to create a timeline and tip sheet again but you know what? It served as an opportunity. Because I thought of something that I wound up incorporating into my assignment. I won’t say what, because I’m going to pretend it was a part of it all along! Score one for pulling it together in a crisis :)
It just goes to show that there is a silver lining to every crisis. I've noticed this many times during my journalism years. For example, I can recall instances when my computer screen mysteriously froze while I was writing an article on deadline. (Computer tech problems were epidemic at my job).
ReplyDeleteEach time, I initially cursed the unwelcome setback. But when I rebooted and logged back on, I wound up rewriting my article with better words, or tighter sentences. Sometimes, I included an extra relevant angle that I didn't think of beforehand.
So I think difficult moments are not just impediments. They're also opportunities to rethink your strategy and tactics, with a mind towards improvement.