Sigh. It’s been a scary week. In fact, it’s just a scary time. Unspeakable violence, natural disasters, discourse and pain and suffering … it’s a lot. A whole lot.

These events have caused me to struggle with feelings of fear and unease, and I have struggled to quell the fear and unease in my children. And although I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, I have looked to others for guidance about how to cope with these feelings, and I thought sharing what I’ve learned might help someone else, as well.

Some Coping Tips:

Acknowledge the Fear. Running from fear is not going to help anyone or anything. Slow down, and let yourself really feel what you’re feeling. It may be intense for a bit, but you will come out the other side and that journey shouldn’t be suppressed.

Offer Help. Tragedies make us feel powerless. Take some of that power back by actively helping those who are affected in any way you are able.

Focus on Your Reality. Yes, what is happening is disturbing. But what is your reality? Don’t overgeneralize threats and allow what is happening elsewhere to affect your day to day movement.

Balance the Negative With the Positive. Tragedies find their way into the news cycle far more often than their more positive counterparts, but there are wonderful things happening everywhere. Seek these stories out. Humanity is a beautiful thing.

Get Help If You Need It. If fear is consuming you, don’t suffer unnecessarily. Reach out for help.

Human life is a precious thing. Hold your loved ones close, friends. This too shall pass.

Life is full of transition. Some are big – a new job, a move to a new city, the birth of a child (or when a child leaves home), the loss of someone close to us. Others are smaller – the beginning of a new project, the transition from the school year to summer, a change of activities that brings new people into our lives or makes it harder to see others.

Our professional and personal lives are always shifting – new opportunities present themselves, things that no longer serve us fall away. Change is what drives growth. It’s healthy. It’s positive.

Our rational selves recognize these things as consummate truths. But sometimes our emotional selves don’t get the memo. Transition can be unsettling and confusing – oftentimes excitement about what lies ahead gets mixed up with melancholy over what has been left behind. When change stirs things up, it’s important to properly honor both sides of the transitory coin.

Sometimes what is needed in these moments is not action, but inaction. Stillness. Reflection.

I was talking to a friend recently about this very thing. I was blathering on about all the things I was going to do now that a big time commitment was wrapping up. Instead of humoring me, he called me out on my steamrolling. He said, “Doll. Settle down. Take this time to recalibrate and evolve. Just do you for a bit.”

Of course, he is right. Transition, whether big or small, presents a tremendous opportunity to make things better. Make you better. But it must be approached thoughtfully and respectfully; because that’s when the magic happens.

In the words of India.Arie:

Just do you
Somebody’s got to be a star
Just do you
Somebody’s got to raise the bar
Just do you
Somebody’s got to change the game
Just do you
Today

So the next time you find yourself in the whirlwind of change, take a deep breath, relax, and Just Do You.

When does anything ever really go exactly as planned? Since the answer is almost never and so many variables are out of your control, it may be easy to think – why bother planning?

Unfortunately, even with diligent, proactive risk management, a crisis can happen at any time (as I’ve said in a previous blog). So, you need to prepare, anticipate and plan ahead – because it’s not a matter of if a crisis will occur, it’s a matter of when.

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, one of the main components of your crisis management plan should be proactive, positive outreach NOW – before the crisis.

Enter PR. Proactive PR.

Even if you’re not looking to grow your company or you feel like PR is “tooting your own horn,” there are many benefits to proactive PR. Positive media and community exposure will help you tenfold down the road. The strongest crisis communication plans also proactively incorporate these PR components:

• Build the Image of Your Key Leaders – It is a major advantage for your company if people regard and respect your leaders as subject matter experts and good people. This is why it’s important for top management to appear occasionally in business media profiles and stories as well as at “good news events” such as philanthropic donations.

• Examine and Strengthen Key Relationships – with local and national media, government officials and the community that you serve. Strong existing relationships will be beneficial in getting the support you need in a crisis and re-building credibility following.

• Review Your Search and Social Media Status – Put the people and the processes in place to continually and proactively monitor your digital exposure – online news outlets, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. This is the first place you may learn about the crisis at hand, and it allows you to respond quickly to misinformation and accusations. (Of course, having a robust and positive existing presence on all of these channels is a must for so many reasons (and that’s why we do what we do on the Porch).

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

We agree, Mr. Franklin!!!