When To Push The Panic Button

Contributed by Elaine Landau

We never know how we are really going to respond to a bad situation until we are actually in that situation. Now, let’s face it. We would all like to think we would be strong, maybe even be a little heroic. But reality has a funny way of smashing those delusions into little irretrievable pieces.

When I was in college, my roommate invited me home for a weekend with her family. She said that we would be roughing it a little because her family had just moved into the house and all they had were a couple of beds, a couch, an old television, and the kitchen appliances. Compared to my dorm room, that sounded like a five-star retreat. I happily joined them for the weekend.

I needed a break from the books and I was really looking forward to eating food that hadn’t been sitting under cafeteria heating lamps. The first evening was very uneventful (the television could only receive one channel) and I went to bed very early. Around midnight, my roommate rousted me from a sound sleep. The room was filled with smoke and all she said was, “The house is on fire. Get up.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. I shot out of bed, grabbed hold of her little sister’s arm and bolted down the smoke-filled stairs. Her Mom took the child out of my arms to head outside and then; I’m not sure what happened. Moments later I found myself standing outside their home watching it burn down.

The thick smoke filled the moonless night and the flames consumed the small structure. I heard sirens approaching, but they didn’t pierce the night silence. They sounded muffled, as if they were whining through thick cotton batting. When firemen rushed up to us, it was the first time we had turned our attention away from the fire to really look at each other. There was my roommate, her two sisters, her mother and father, huddled together, clad only in their pajamas. I, on the other hand, was standing next to the family members, completely clothed, holding an open umbrella over my head and clutching a bag full of groceries. Talk about surreal. They were shivering in the night air in their jammies and I looked like Mary Poppins after a trip to the Price Club.

In the end, nobody was hurt. The structure was a loss, but since the family had not completely moved in, they didn’t lose cherished family photos or belongings. But what happened to me? I know I didn’t become Super Girl and save their cat. Mostly because they didn’t have a cat, but that’s not the point. My best guess is that instinct took over. Aware of a fire, I snapped into survivor mode. I escaped with the basics-- food (the groceries), shelter (the umbrella) and water (in the bag of groceries).

Now I’m not advocating that we all go out and put ourselves into life- threatening situations to discover our inner strengths and weaknesses, but adversity does tend to be a catalyst for change. Believe me, when I returned to the dorm, I located all the fire exits and actually read the safety cards that were handed out during registration week. I knew that being prepared at the basest level was the key to surviving any adverse situation.

The workplace breeds unpleasant, unexpected situations. Are you ready for anything? Why wait for a client emergency to find out that nobody in the office is proficient at PowerPoint®? Where is an advanced PowerPoint tutorial when you need one? When a deadline is moved ahead by a month, will the online research be bogged down because nobody knows how to use the Internet? Don’t depend on a resume claim that an employee knows certain programs. Online tutorials can update any computer user to vital innovations and new programs. If your outside bookkeeper quits right before tax time, online QuickBook courses may just come in handy.

Then again, you may never face any adversity on the job. If you think conflict, confrontation, and confusion are simply “c” words with lots of syllables, you lead a charmed life. But, if you live in the real world with the rest of us, we’re not looking for a hero. Just a little preparation. PowerPoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

About the Author:
Elaine Landau is a freelance writer, publicist, web site editor, and television writer with more than 15 years of experience in marketing, advertising, and publicity.

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