When everything seems to be collapsing....

HAVE you ever encounter a day when everything seems to go the wrong way for you?
For example, your boss doesn't seem to like your work at all when previously he used to praise you sky high.

Then you go home, and your spouse picks a fight with you. Your children don't want to talk to you. Even the dog growls in your presence.

That sets you thinking: have I been over to the dark side without realising it? Have the Sith Lord cast a spell on me that makes me smell bad in the presence of househould pets?

Yes, it could be that and everything else. Now, here's my take on this kind of situation. When even a passing crow in the clear blue sky drops something it ate on your forehead, rest assured, it's not your fault.

Take it as a sign that you need to have your hair washed anyway. Nothing in this world is supposedly bad. Everything works in your favour or to your favour. Now, if a smart alec were to ask me at this juncture, how does a crow's poo supposed to be interpreted as good luck, my answer is: you are not dead, are you?

Our world is full of surprises. Things happen all the time. It doesn't mean you have joined the Jonah's World of Gloomy Happenings.

Your unfriendly boss could be the victim of some family squabble that he doesn't wish anyone to know about. But his raw feelings are very much exposed and he madly wants to let off some steam.

So what if you are within his firing range. Take it as a lesson in patience building if this kind of thing happens to you. I know you probably wants to thump him on the head first.

But initial emotional reaction is often not the right response. All of us want to thump someone on the head at least 200 times in our entire lives. But if we were to do that, this world will be filled with people with dented foreheads!

It is through my humble experience that I found out that people who are slow to react to unfavourable circumstances thrust on them, usually end up being better leaders.

For that matter, they lead more harmonious lives, too. Remember, everybody is grateful for a calm person in their midst when the situation seems critical.

Nothing is critical. It is only the human perception of a situation not following the norms. I know this is an irritating way of explaining a terrible situation but it is true.

You don't want to be the one who screams first but as you later tell your family, you just couldn't help it.

The art of being the "eye of the hurricane" can be cultivated. All it takes is practice, practice, practice. When you have done it often enough, or when you have practised this system of staying cool all the time despite the dire circumstances, it becomes second nature to you.

Next thing you know, everybody wants to be your friend. There's nothing more reassuring than a friend who just simply refuses to be rattled. We all know what it's like to be in the safe arms of our mummy or daddy when we were a toddler.

The effect you cast upon others under desperate circumstances are the same. They will gravitate towards you like moths towards a light bulb.

You be be their panic room. In other words, when everyone panics, they run to you. Soon, you will be that "bomb shelter" that so many people will brag about to their family, friends and colleagues.