In This Issue: April 26, 2007

• We're getting really close to releasing my next internet video - The 5 3/4 Questions You've Been Avoiding. (If you liked The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun you'll love this). A conversation with the animator has got me writing about three questions I ask when I'm dealing with emergencies in Who you gonna call?
• Market Place Product of the Month: A free interview of me talking about The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun.
• Got it going on: Prague. Finland. Istanbul. Toronto. Baltimore. Some places I'm showing up to speak over the next few months.

Michael Bungay Stanier
Principal, Box of Crayons

PS - Know anyone who has an occasional emergency? Please forward Outside the Lines to anyone you think might be interested.

Who you gonna call?

Last night I was sitting in a pub in Toronto, waiting for my friend Rick Crillly to do the first ever public reading of his fantastic book, The Tablecloth Trick.

I was speaking to my friend Haig - who just happens to be the wonderful animator behind my latest movie, The 5 3/4 Questions You've Been Avoiding.

He was telling me that in the animation business he's known as a "911 animator" - the guy you turn to when you're having an Animation Crisis - need something done fast and something done well. (For those outside North America, 911 is the emergency number that calls police, fire or ambulance).

The thought of someone having Haig on the end of their own "bat phone" tickled my fancy - and got me thinking about how I deal with emergencies and the key questions I (try to) ask myself in the heat of the moment.

1. How am I thinking?

- It's a disaster!

Like many of us, I'm terrific at projecting a series of events that get progressively more and more disastrous, exponentially nightmarish consequences of any action I might take.

It's called "catastrophizing" - and is one of the ways we get frozen and unable to act in the moment.

Here's a recent example from my life (only somewhat exaggerated): I'm overwhelmed trying to write my next book... which means it will never get written... which means that people will think I'm a failure... which means that my wife will leave me... which means that I'll starve... which means I'll start drinking.. which means that I'll soon be in the gutter... etc ad infinitum

You can see one way of dealing with catastrophic fears here.

My article on The Art of Catastrophizing is featured in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life along with articles from other great thinkers

- Turning Judgement into Data.

Connected to managing my talent for catastrophizing, I recognize that I'm also highly skilled at assuming that the way I interpret the event (my judgement) - is fact (data)

Step back and make sure that the facts are in fact the facts, not just your assumptions. What I've found to be useful are two questions I've stolen from Katie Bryon, famous for her philosophy called "The Work". Here they are:

• Is this True?
• Is this really True?

2. What needs to be done now?

- Keep breathing

I'm not sure exactly why we are programmed to hold our breath under stress. But somehow we do.

So first step: just take a couple of deep breaths. Things will shift

- Define the next action

One of David Allen's great insights is "you can't "do" a project. You can only do the next action." To stop being overwhelmed, focus on: what's the next action that will make the most difference now.

And don't forget, the next action might just be: Do Nothing. It's not always the right thing to rush into action. Sometimes, just doing nothing is the thing to do.

3. Who can I ask for help?

- Who loves you?

Under pressure, many of us retreat inwards and try and solve the problem all by ourselves.

Don't forget that you've got people around you who you love and who love you. Remembering that alone will shift things. Actually getting in touch and sharing the burden will ease it even more.

- Who can help you

It's not just about the love.

There are also people who surround you with skills, experience and wisdom who can help you right now.

Who has technical skills that you can use? Who can you ask to do something for you?

Who has influence - the art of opening doors, greasing the wheels, making introductions

Don't take my word for it

Smart folks thinking out loud about coping with catastrophe

"Life is a crisis - so what?"
- Malcolm Bradbury, British author

"Perhaps catastrophe is the natural human environment, and even though we spend a good deal of energy trying to get away from it, we are programmed for survival amid catastrophe."
- Germaine Greer, Australian thinker

"Panic is a sudden desertion of us, and a going over to the enemy of our imagination."
- Christian Nestell Bovee, American author

"Stress is basically a disconnection from the earth, a forgetting of the breath. Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important. Just lie down."
- Natalie Goldberg, American author

"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward."
Kurt Vonnegut - who will be missed

Want to learn more? Here are some useful resources

10 Commandments for a Stress-Free Life (a useful blog posting)

Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn. Shares techniques for managing long-term pain, techniques that can be equally useful in helping build resilience against short term crises.

Loving What Is, Byron Katie. I confess, I haven't actually read this - I'm on a waiting list at my local library. But I've read about it and have friends who are big fans of The Work. It has at its heart four questions that can help pull you out of the moment and help you manage whatever you're facing.

Market Place Product of the Month

Free Article: "Are you having fun yet?"

I was recently interviewed on The Eight Principles by Arupa Tesolin, author of Ting! - a new book on using Intuition in business.

It's been featured in a number of journals, including this one: "Managing Smarter. Find out the four principles behind the Principles - and why I like #7 most of all"

And don't forget - you can tap into your own source of inspiration by downloading the Eight Irresistible Principles Screensaver for less than five bucks

• For PCs click here
• Apologies to Mac users - the Mac screensavers are temporarily unavailable due to technical difficulties which we're working to resolve.

Got It Going On: Michael's Speaking Gigs

Curious what I really look like? You can see a photo of me at my new speaker page.

This month
I'm keeping my own horizons narrow this month, focusing on writing the next version of Get Unstuck & Get Going and other cool projects.

Coming months
I'll be speaking in Toronto, Prague, Helsinki, and Istanbul. Check out the details here.

About Michael

Michael Bungay Stanier is Cartoon Head of MichaelBungayStanier.com, an organization that provides products and services so people can have lives of fun, inspiration and action.

To learn more about his corporate offerings, see BoxOfCrayons.biz

You can find out more by contacting Michael directly at Michael@boxofcrayons.biz or +1 (416) 532-1322.

Subscribe - To subscribe to Outside the Lines click here or go to MichaelBungayStanier.com.

Reprint - I'd be delighted if you should wish to reprint (for free) any part of Outside the Lines in your newsletters, websites, and message boards. Simply include the following attribution:

Michael Bungay Stanier is a professional keynote speaker, the author of the best selling coaching tool, Get Unstuck & Get Going ...on the stuff that matters and the creator of Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun. A certified coach and Rhodes Scholar, he works with teams and organizations to help them do less Good Work and more Great Work.

Schedule - Outside the Lines is distributed on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month. Your contact information is never traded, never rented, never sold.

I send out an extra email one to three times a month detailing programs and offers.

©Box of Crayons 2007. Box of Crayons is a registered trading name of Maida CC Inc.

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