Sunday is one day when I do not touch my Laptop and when my instincts told me to log in on a Sunday morning I could not ignore it for too long. What was to follow was a first time experience for me. It was huge crisis at hand when i realized that my website was hacked. It was obvious on doubled checking that my whole website had disappeared and trash put in its place. The sequence of events that occurred for the next couple of hours was a learning experience that could take me a long way in handling a crisis which tries to knock you down. I always tend to see a silver lining in the darkest of clouds. Some of the things i learnt and can be done by just about anybody when a crisis hits you are –
Remain Calm: It’s essential & critical to stay calm during a crisis. Of course, the very nature of a crisis makes this difficult to do. However it is important to stay calm and not panic. When you panic it’s hard to think clearly about what’s happened and what you need to do. On the other hand remaining calm allows you to consider your options before you make decisions, even if decisions need to be made quickly. The moment I realized that my website had been hacked, I took a deep breath and calmed my mind to think more rationally.I tend to think better when I am calm. The most amazing ideas and solutions have crossed my mind when I am at the calmest.
Stay positive:This is sometimes the toughest thing to do in a crisis. You have to keep believing there really is a light at the end of tunnel and you will get there. Think about what’s helped you in the past to deal with tough situations and use whatever works to keep you hopeful. For example I could have looked at this incident in a negative manner by harboring negative thoughts and hatred to the person who had hacked my website. However I stayed away from this and focused on the most important task which is to bring my website back in action in the shortest possible time.
Be persistent: Surviving a crisis means you need to keep moving forward. Be willing to tackle each obstacle in your way, one at a time. The idea is to crawl if you can’t walk and walk if you can’t run. Whatever you do, keep moving forward and do not give up. Though you can’t see it, by just focusing on the task at hand increases the chance that are you are making progress.
Be flexible: You may encounter unexpected roadblocks as you move through your crisis. If this happens, and it is likely, remember to pause for a minute and be creative. Get comfortable with the new circumstances and decide what you need to do next. Flexibility keeps you on your toes so that you are always ready to move around any roadblocks that get in your way. By being flexible, you can absorb the shocks better. This will also give you more room to maneuver
Use what’s available: It’s important to use anything and everything that might help you. Look around and consider what’s available to you and how you can use it. Examples are supportive people, places in your community offering help or maybe advice from others who survived a similar crisis. If you take the time to use existing resources you can get out of your crisis faster. I always believe that instead of reinventing the wheel you can just hit the ground running by reaching out to people who have already walked the path. For me talking to a few people who are knowledgeable in this aspect proved to be a great help. Expand your horizon. Seeing what is on the farthest part of your vision helps in seeing through the immediate obstacles.
Be patient: A crisis can feel like you’re walking through an area filled with land mines. While the tendency is to run, this makes you more likely to step on a mine. However by moving slowly and carefully you can dodge them. Keep your focus on where you’re going and be patient as this increases your odds that you will make it through. I can’t help but remember how much of my patience was tested when navigating many slippery stretches on the high altitude region of the Himalayas. Being slow, focused and patient was the biggest learning for me from the mountains. I advocate the same even today and live by it.
Learn from it: Yes there is always a lesson to be learnt from the greatest of crisis. I learnt a couple of valuable lessons from this incident which will no doubt help me in the long run. When one is open to the idea of learning in any given situation then every crisis can be looked as a learning module. That is exactly what I have done over the years. Most of the crisis I have gone through on hindsight have made me a better person in the journey of life.
Very few of us go through life without encountering a crisis. Whether your crisis is big or small, you have a choice about how you can handle it. While panic is a choice, the better option is to take a deep breath and remember that with some of the learning’s above you can navigate and manage your crisis more effectively. Once the crisis is over you’ll be back on solid ground. For me my hacked website put me off track for a couple of hours. I did have to realign my personal commitments but at the end of the day when I do look back, the crisis has made me a better person and hopefully put me in a better position to handle a bigger crisis.
I do hope this article has helped you to look at your own crisis through a different perspective.For people who are going through any crisis be it in any area of your life, do remember that you can come unscathed if you have a long term vision in mind. If any of you or your friends are going through a crisis which you feel is insurmountable then do not shy away from reaching me on my mail coach@satishrao.in or connect with me through my Face book Fan Page.