In times of stress don’t do anything stupid. Instead, pause and do something special for yourself

I learned from personal experience that overreacting in times of hardship can cause more pain than gain. Over the last 20 years I experienced highly stressful situations and I will never forget a few of these, as I rushed decisions resulting in heavier losses for me and for the people that loved me. Had I only paused, analyzed the events with patience, I would have saved money and protected my mental strength. Instead, my impulse and instincts caused and accelerated a crisis that would have not started had I not done anything.

Shit happens: When something bad happens or we think something bad may happen, we should take time to clear our minds and get more information and consider all viable options. Rushed decisions cause more damage and can slow down the recovery process. Distressed situations, and even crisis is often the result of lacking information and overthinking or misreading a situation that is outside of our control. To prevent this from happening avoid negative self-talk at all costs and silence the noise around you. Also practice positive self-talk particularly when we don’t know what is going on around us.

A personal self-created crisis: Just an example. About eight years ago, I was the head of a Development Bank Unit and I kept getting mixed…