Tsunami or Hurricane

I believe that problems are categorized in two ways: either as a tsunami or a hurricane. A tsunami thrashes with little warning, while the hurricane brews long enough to send you signs that you should see coming a mile away. I’ve had my share of both.

An example of a tsunami problem was when I backed out of my garage, but forgot to shut the passenger door (the sound of metal against metal is something I never need to hear again). A hurricane problem was when, after ignoring the dozen or so notices in the mail, I still managed to forget to register my son for kindergarten.

The tsunami was unavoidable, because I honestly didn’t know the car door was open. But since I had time to avoid the brunt of the hurricane when I missed my son's enrollment, I pleaded and promised to work at the school carnival for the next decade to make up for my error. This was like boarding up the windows with cardboard boxes... it wasn’t pretty, yet in this case, it worked.

My analogy may seem like a bit of an over simplification of categorizing problems. However, I am finding that identifying the warning time against the preparation time helps me to logically think through the next steps. Is this problem a tsunami that was beyond my control, or is it a hurricane that resulted from my complacency with the warning signs?

In the tsunami scenario, we might have time to prepare, yet it is calculated in minutes, not hours or days. We run as fast as possible, and it requires acceptance of what is to come and preparation for the aftermath.

The hurricane scenario is vastly different. The warning signs are clear and visible to those paying attention. What might start as an irritated stirring in the waters grows ever so quickly. The temperatures rise and other factors begin to create a momentum that if not stopped, could wreak havoc upon landfall. The good news with a hurricane is that even with its intensity, if we know the signs and have appreciation for its potential, we can begin to prepare ourselves in advance.

I would love nothing more than to talk through the steps of hurricane preparation, but unfortunately, I have gone well beyond my allotted word limit for the week. So, you are just going to have to hang on to your buoys until next week when I share my thoughts on how to get through the hurricane!

Comments

[Bridget Ritchie]

Well said, and look forward to your next post on it! It is almost easier to deal with the consequences of the tsunamis that happen, as they are an "it is what it is" situation that was forced upon you and you can be almost proud of how you handled it. Consequences of a hurricane - are harder to swallow, because you likely brought much of them on yourself and you know you could have avoided them with better attention to the warning signs. Having volunteered at many things at school due to similarly missed deadlines - I know the pain of ignoring such signs!

[Leisa]

Love it! This analogy can be applied to many factors of our lives. Thanks for sharing Susan, Leisa

[Mark Schneider]

So if we can recognized the hurricane or Tsunami, use our toolkits (or those on our team) "if I had a hammer" posted 12/7. 2012 will be the great year, posted 1/4. Just in case you wondered if I was paying attention. Mark