Recently, I heard a story of a person who came home after a night out with his wife. The kids were old enough to take care of themselves and were home the entire time. As the husband and wife settled into bed, the wife heard somebody breathing under the bed. In a panic, the husband ran to the garage and grabbed a golf club and then in a panic he realized that he had just left his wife in a room with the intruder. After returning to the room, he was able to keep the intruder down while they waited for the cops to arrive.
When the police arrived, they arrested the man who had a rap sheet as long as his arm. Could have been incredibly tragic but the bad dude is now behind bars and will be too old to crawl under a bed by the time he gets out. The homeowner is now better prepared with security systems and such but his thoughts about the safety of home will forever include this experience. He is much better prepared to react and to manage a crisis of this nature.
Now, I heard this story first hand. The person that told it seemed to be a rational and clear thinking individual. Really- he is an average guy who you would have over for the summer BBQ or who manages the little league team. He appeared to be a normal and well functioning member of society. He just reacted in a way that was both a fight and a flight response. His brain had a challenge responding to a circumstance that it had never imagined.
How will you react when faced with uncertainty? Can the calmest and coolest person loose their way when it comes to reacting to a crisis?
Crisis is a hard thing to rehearse but experience has shown that those that are prepared will be able to respond in a way that is much greater than those who have not prepared.