“…the important thing is that Miss King believed she was a capable sensible person and this belief was a great help to her in emergencies such as the present one.”
D. E. Stevenson
We talk about household emergencies like a flaming skillet and international emergencies like global warming as if they’re different, but in the Miss King sense they are similar.
What you do about them depends in large part on your sense of who you are.
Practice: Write down a belief about yourself that makes you effective. Write down one that leaves you ineffective. (If you’re feeling bold post them where you will see them for a few days.)
Advanced practice: Imagine an action plan that pairs your self-description with a cause that matters to you: “I can handle tedious tasks as long as I get to work side-by-side with other people,” “Public speaking doesn’t intimidate me, managing others does,” “Give me a stack of letters to take home and address and I’m a happy camper.”
Related practices: Work, Author’s Statement, Viking hat