Don’t Panic! Don’t Panic!

Growing up, I watched a sitcom called Dad’s Army, which revolved around a troop of Home Guard soldiers during the Second World War.

One of the characters, Lance Corporal Jones, had a catchphrase, “Don’t panic! Don’t panic.” While at the same time doing just that, panicking. It was hilarious and left its mark on me by demonstrating that panicking is the last thing you should do when faced with a challenge.

How often do you find yourself looking at your task list and feeling a sense of anxiety or even panic wash over you? There’s too much to do and too little time to do it. Then, rushing around, panicking about how you will get everything done before the day ends.

Panicking and worrying, as Corporal Jones’s character illustrated, doesn’t get things done. It does the reverse. It causes you to freeze, and rather than choose what to do calmly and thoughtfully, you choose the easiest or loudest task to do.

When that sense of anxiety or panic sets in, the one thing you should do is likely to be the last thing you want to do. Stop.

Stop, take a deep breath, and look at what’s on your plate. Perhaps get a piece of paper and write out all the things you think you have to do right now and then highlight the ones you need to do in the next hour or two. You’ll instantly get a sense of relief; better than that…