That’s what it says in the elevator, because it must be the first step. It is always the first step. Often, it is the only one. Keep calm.
When you oversleep, keep calm. When your power goes out, keep calm. When your boss calls, keep calm.
Everything feels like an emergency when we have a habit of panicking. But what are we panicking for? Is panic a requirement for our project’s success? Does it say “should panic more” in your performance review?
Panic and action share four letters. That’s why we associate the two. Actually, panic mostly keeps us in place. Calm is what resets the cycle when we receive new information, no matter how left-field it may be.
Breathe, accept, orient, choose, go.
And when the elevator gets stuck, you do it again.