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In a flash of a moment, a masked man comes at you with a knife. Do you:

<ol style="list-style-type:upper-alpha">
	<li>Run</li>
	<li>Fight</li>
	<li>Freeze</li>
</ol>

For many of us, we would probably say A or B, but in reality, many of us would C. So, what happens next?

The masked man approaches with the knife and we have a second opportunity. The masked man says, &ldquo;give me all of your money.&rdquo; What do you do now? Probably the same thing.

In a disaster or a tough situation, it isn&rsquo;t the situation that causes the outcome, it is what we do next.

You are driving and a bee flies in the window. Do you continue to drive or do you swerve and crash? In one response, we think rationally that a bee sting is less of a problem than a crash, but in reality, we probably swing our arms out of fear. In tough situations, often times, it isn&rsquo;t needing to know the difference between right and wrong, it is us responding under pressure that determines the outcome.

My dad would always say, &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t have anything nice to say, don&rsquo;t say anything at all.&rdquo; There is a lot of value in this advice and it can even help influence the strategy of running when things go wrong. When someone says something you don&rsquo;t like, you run away. Are you considered a stereotypical coward? Possibly. But are you safe? Absolutely. If you scream back something that is not nice, you risk outcomes that spin out of control from there.

I think about that saying a lot in business &ndash; especially a business where clients can sometimes overreact. Even with our team, when they handle challenging franchisees, I ask them to put themselves in the shoes of those who are complaining for a second. Chances are that franchisee has spent a lot of money to get their business open and they&rsquo;re not making money yet. They are stressed. Thus, the cause and effect of their attitude or approach are not due to my team, it&rsquo;s the circumstances surrounding them. When you can pause and put yourself in the shoes of the aggressor, you can at least understand their position to know that a response will be you swatting the bee, which could make the bee angrier, which could cause a sting, which could cause a crash.

Here&rsquo;s the point of all of this:

<ol>
	<li>Always prepare yourself for the worst, so that you can think about how you would respond.</li>
	<li>Understand that your response usually dictates the ultimate outcome. Understand that there&rsquo;s a risk when you respond to any bad situation &ndash; yet, be confident in what you do.</li>
	<li>Also, understand that you may not be able to prepare for all tough situations.</li>
</ol>

So, what will you do the next time you approach a tough situation? Remember, your action likely will dictate the next reaction.

Nick Powills: It’s Usually Not the Disaster that Causes Pain, It’s the Event that Happens Next

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