Checklist for getting beyond today’s hot panicky topic
It’s a fairly simple checklist, really.
1. Did the sun go nova overnight? If you’re reading the checklist, the answer is obviously no (you’d be free floating molecules, or carbon residue, otherwise), so continue to 2.
2. Did Earth’s surface get buried under massive sheets of ice, indicating the onset of an ice age? If you’re reading the checklist, the answer is obviously no (frozen people can’t move, eliminating your ability to get out of bed and do anything), so continue to 3. [alternate version of this question: is sea level rising more rapidly than a snail crossing the Mohave Desert?]
3. Is there still enough oxygen in the atmosphere to breathe (or at least roughly the same amount as yesterday)? If you’re reading the checklist, the answer is obviously no (asphyxiated people can’t read), so continue to 4.
4. Are the nukes flying? If you’re reading the checklist, the answer is most likely no, although timing is always of utmost importance (radiation and reading don’t usually go together; neither do vaporization and reading), so continue to 5.
5. You’re not out of the woods yet, but your day is certainly off to a decent start. If you’re still panicking, remove yourself from the presence of media for the rest of the day and go do something real and tangible. Think about it first, though, and make sure it’s something worth doing.
6. Before you go to bed, get this list ready to read tomorrow AM and start with item 1.
Look, there’s no doubt that there are bad things happening across the world and that more could happen and I may be seen as trivializing many problems. Panicking isn’t the answer, however. Neither is echoing the message of doom and gloom which, quite frankly, smarter people than you are using to get ahead in life.
If the essentials and basics of life (e.g. having one) are in place, you’ve got as good of a starting point as anyone else.
Think about it.
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Lydia Sugarman:
It's my birthday. I woke this morning at my birth time, 7:32 a.m., feeling happy, rested, serene. Then, stuff started immediately hitting the fan, it seemed and I ended feeling utterly overwhelmed. Thank you for injecting a measure of commonsense reasoning into my day. I'm still not going out, though!
7 October 2008, 7:39 pmMark Dykeman:
Ha ha, whatever works for you, Lydia!
8 October 2008, 6:13 amFranklin:
I totally agree. The sky is not falling. Remaining calm is the best course of action.
8 October 2008, 12:17 pmMark Dykeman:
Although it can be pretty darned hard to keep a cool head at times….
8 October 2008, 12:46 pmIs The Sky Falling? | FPettit.com:
[...] my favorite blogs have come to the same apparent conclusion; The sky is falling. But I agree with Mark Dykeman. Now is the time to be calm and not to [...]
8 October 2008, 3:13 pmMike:
Wow! Good article! Thank's
9 October 2008, 2:37 amGorden:
Agree with Mark)))
9 October 2008, 2:38 amVedo:
Thanks for the reality check Mark. And you're right sometime I want to tell folks to calm down and kiss your spouse passionately, go play with your kids, read a book, or whatever thing that let's you know you are still alive and things are ok — My $0.02
9 October 2008, 11:06 pmMark Dykeman:
Excellent
10 October 2008, 9:30 amOne Year Ago – blogging topic check list | Broadcasting Brain:
[...] year ago I came up with a checklist for getting beyond today’s hot panicky topic. In other words, how do you avoid the dreaded “echo chamber” of repeated thoughts. [...]
7 October 2009, 8:40 pm